Cardfight! Vanguard: Destiny Guardian
by NikkiDiAngelo
Summary: I'm Nia Kinaki, a random kid from a random school, who is sucked into a random dimension! Now I've got to deal with crossing between two worlds in my sleep, being a Card fighter, and saving Cray and two Earths! What's even worse, I have school twenty-four hours a weekday! Why does the two universes hate me?
1. New World

**Hey everyone! Welcome to my first story (official one anyway) in a new field! If you see any mistakes, don't blame me, blame the grammer checker on my computer. It never makes sense. So anyway, in celebration of the grand opening of my newest piece, I published not one, but _three _chapters! That should keep you guys busy for a while. and by a while, I mean five minutes. ;)**

* * *

Alright, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. What the hey happened?! I'm just a normal kid with a normal life, then _bam!_ I suddenly get sucked into another dimension from my favorite TV show, Cardfight! Vanguard! How do I know this, well, you'll find out for yourself. But if you ever want to understand this insane tale to the fullest, I'm going to have to start at the beginning, when this whole story began.

Oh man, I'm starting to sound like one of those mysterious writers where they're about to tell their adventure, which basically, I am! The only difference? This story is real, and definitely not for the faint of heart. Which means anyone above the age of four won't get freaked out by all this.

I'm getting off track! My name is Nia Kinaki, a fifteen year-old who has never ever played Vanguard before, mainly because none of the decks seems right for me. I know, it doesn't make sense, but since when do things make sense? Alright, so maybe you can understand what one plus one is, but still! That's the only way I can describe it. I have black hair in a single braid down my back, violet eyes, and white skin too.

Now I better get going with this tale before all you eager beavers out there start demanding for me to start. It all started like usual, I went to bed and slept, then had a terrifying nightmare that nearly gave me a heart attack to the nth degree.

_Boom!_

_"No!"_

_"It can't be possible. . . No! Aichi!"_

I shot up from my bed with a jolt. My breathing was shallow and came out in puffs of air. Cold, sticky sweat covered my entire body from head to toe as I tried to recall what happened in my dream.

I held my head as the memories flowed in. Oh wow. That was _so_ freaky. I closed my eyes and images started bombarding me, making me shiver just by looking at the images. Devastation . . . There was so much of it. . .

I shook my head. _Why? Why am I getting so many nightmares lately? They're all the same thing: a world in ruins, darkness covering the land, and people fighting against . . . something. _I sighed. _This is way too weird for me to comprehend. _I turned my head and looked out of my window. The night outside was stunning. As my eyes roamed around, taking the scenery, but I stopped at one of the stars in the midnight sky. It was blinking and glowing even stronger each passing second. I shielded my eyes and looked away, but the light was becoming blindingly bright now, and I was being really . . . really . . . light headed. My head connected to the pillow and I was out before you could even blink.

* * *

I was standing in the middle of a barren wasteland. Everywhere around me was grey, the remnants of what was obviously a once great city. Crumbling buildings and shards of metal and glass surrounded me, concrete dust covering the cracked pavements and the faded roads. A gust of freezing wind blew through and bit at my nose. I hissed in pain as a bit of dust hit my eye. I blinked and it went away.

But as soon as I had opened my eyes, I was in a different part of the city. I was standing in front of a mostly intact building with shards of glass littering the ground in front of it.

_What is this place?_ I thought.

I took a step forward and the ground beneath me wobbled. I stumbled a few steps forward before regaining my balance and leapt off whatever I was standing on. It was a large rectangular object four feet wide and made of steel, completely covered in dust over faded colors. A sign! I bent down and started brushing away the dust, ignoring the fact that my hand was turning a dusty shade of gray. I frowned.

_Why does this sign look so familiar?_ I brushed away the dust near the bottom of the sign. _Oh, wait! I'm-I'm getting something! Ca-Card . . ._

I furrowed my brow and brushed to the right. My eyes widened._ No way . . ._ I blinked and reread the words on the sign. _It is!_

_Card Capital_. The home base of the protonagists from one of my favorite anime series, Vanguard. Why was I dreaming about this now? What was going on? I shook my head and sighed. Get a grip, there has to be an answer to all this. I squared my shoulders and stood up. And there's only one way to find out. I took a deep breath and walked in front of the store._ Here I go_. I took a step into the shop and was overcome by a blinding light.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes and adjusted to the brightness of this place from the dark grey wasteland that I had just witnessed. As soon as my vision refocused, my jaw dropped. It was Card Capital all right . . . But thing is, it wasn't in ruins like those that I'd seen outside. It bright, brand new, and _alive._ Pale pink walls, the same orange stripes on them, orange tiled floors, kids playing card games, everything. I blinked in disbelief. _How in the name of science did I end up in this place?!_

"Welcome to Card Capital!"

"Gah!" I jumped and turned to the person who scared me.

He jumped and yelled, "Ah!" He looked at me and sighed. "Yikes, please don't do that again! You scared me!"

I glanced at the man. He was a regular sized guy somewhere in his thirties, wearing a blue apron over a long-sleeved white shirt with a blue collar and jeans. I looked at his nametag. "Shin . . . Nitta?"

"You got it!" The man said. His rectangular glasses flashed in the light. "Are you looking for something in particular? Or are you new around here?"

I stepped back. "Oh, uh . . ."

The manager looked at me expectantly with a smile.

I heard the door open behind me and someone said, "M-Mori-ahh!"

I had only enough time to think, _Eek!_ until I fell forward and got squished against the floor. "Ow."

"Ah, I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry!"

"Don't worry," I muttered. "It's not like I'm on the floor and there's a dude on top of me."

"Oh no, I'm really, really sorry about that!" The guy got off of me and I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned over on my back to get a good look on the stuttering guy who accidentally body slammed into me. I looked up at him and felt panic surge through me. _Oh, should have seen that one coming._

Mainly because the person standing before me was the very same person I spent hours watching on the TV, who introduced me to the world of Vanguard, and that has probably _no _idea that he's a famous anime icon to all Vanguard players _all over the world_.

He gave me a nervous smile. "I really am sorry about that. My name is Aichi Sendou."

It took me a few minutes to realize what he just said and respond. "I-I'm Nia Kinaki."

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

I stood up and dusted myself off. "No, none at all. Uh-"

"No way, man! That's just impossible!"

We both looked towards the noise, and my eyes widened in disbelief.

Two teenaged boys were standing up at a nearby table, one of them wearing a grey uniform just like the one Aichi was wearing, and the one across him with his back turned to me had sidesweapt brown hair and a white and blue uniform. Two more boys were there; a curly-haired guy wearing the same uniform as loudmouth and a blonde behind the blue-uniformed guy. Judging from what I can see, the guy in the grey outfit had lost to the brunette across him.

Now before I continue the story, I'll identify the people at the table, mainly because I don't want to have to keep on calling them by description. It's _way _easier if I use their names. The one who just lost is Katsumi Morikawa, who is by far the worst and most egotistical person I've ever seen. He uses a mixed clan deck with too many grade three's stuffed in there because he believes, 'the more powerful the unit, the greater the winner.' Unfortunately, it also means he has no means of guarding or riding a grade one or two. When he's been given a balanced deck, though, his skill does a complete one-eighty. He goes from being the worst to the best card fighters ever! His dark hair is really strange though since it spikes up into opposite directions and he also has black eyes.

The brown haired and bark-brown eyed guy standing right next to him is Yuta Izaki, a friend of Aichi and Morikawa. He also uses a Tachikaze deck, and I've only seen him play about two times throughout the whole entire anime. He's a regular player who comes to Card Capital, but other than the fact that he has low grades and curly brown hair, there's very little information about him. He's a really nice guy though, despite the fact that he hangs around a total bully like Morikawa.

The person who had beaten Morikawa across the table would be the Toshiki Kai, one of the greatest Vanguard players there is today. He's the Vanguard of the Kagero clan and is almost unbeatable. The only flaw in him is the fact he's one of those strong silent types with a poker face to boot it. He's got brown hair going to one side, and cold turquoise eyes. Last I checked, he should be about 16 right now.

The blonde dude with the smile as big as Asia behind him is Taishi Miwa, Kai's childhood friend who's also the same grade as him. He's also another Kagero user, and almost just as good as Kai is. Miwa can be very protective of Kai, as seen in season one. He's also a fantastic cook if I remember correctly.

Back to the plot, so now Kai stood up from his chair.

"I won," the brunette coldly said. "Now honor the deal and hand over the Blaster Blade card."

Aichi gasped behind me. "W-wait!" He ran over to the guys and halted in front of the man that just won. "Th-that's my card! Um, c-can I have it back please?" Aichi reached out for his stolen card, but Kai moved the card out of reach.

"No," he said.

"Pl-please! That card is really important to me!" Aichi begged.

Kai scoffed. "If you want it back so badly, you're going to have to beat me."

"Wh-what?"

"You heard me. If you own this card, then you'll battle me to reclaim it."

"Hold it right there!" Morikawa yelled. He stepped up to Kai with his hands balled up. "You're not going to fight me, but you'll battle this little pipsqueak here?!" He pointed to the bluenette. "He doesn't even have a deck!"

"Um, actually," Aichi ducked his head and felt inside his suitcase. "I do. I made a deck, but I never played it before."

"Then now would be a good time to test it out," everyone looked at me. "No?"

Izaki frowned. "Who are you?"

"Nia Kinaki. I'm a little new around here, so just checking out the games."

"So you play Vanguard?" Miwa asked.

"No, not yet," I replied. "I had my eye on the game for a while now, but no one played that game in my school, and there were no card shops nearby that I know of." That's true at least, which was sad, since I really wanted to play a game against someone.

"Are you two going to get started or what?" Miwa asked. "This suspense is killing me."

"Oh right," Aichi blushed. "But, I don't know how the rules of Vanguard."

Kai looked at him and sighed. "Alright, I'll guide you through it step by step, but I'll only say it once so listen here," he said sternly. Kai took the top card of his deck and placed it front and center of the playing field. "First take a grade 0 unit and place it here, on the biggest circle face-down."

Aichi nodded and placed a unit onto the field. "Okay."

"Then, draw five cards for your hand. These cards allow you to attack or defend, known as 'units'."

"Alright," Aichi said.

"Next, we flip our cards over and say, 'Stand up, Vanguard!'"

Aichi nervously nodded. "Stand up,-"

"-the-," Kai added.

"Vanguard!"

"Lizard Runner Undeux!"

"Arise, Stardust Trumpeter!"

"I'll take the first turn to show you how this works. First, I stand and draw. Then I 'ride'," Kai placed a card on top of his Vanguard. "I ride Embodiment of Armor, Bahr. Then I 'call' lesser grade units onto the field," he placed a card behind his Vanguard. "I call Flame of Hope, Aermo! Then, I attack!"

Aichi sucked in a breath and tensed up.

"Except that since I went first, I can't."

Aichi sighed. "Oh, that's good!"

"The downside of going first. The turn passes over to you."

"'Kay. I stand and I draw," Aichi took the top card from his deck and added it to his hand. "I ride Little Sage Marron! Then I call Wingal Brave to the back and I attack!"

"Alright," Kai said. "Since you're going to be attacking my Vanguard, you'll have to turn your unit sideways."

"Like this?" Aichi touched his card and turned it on its broadside.

He nodded. "Exactly like that. Now look at your rearguard unit behind your Vanguard. See that little picture at the top let corner, underneath the grade? That means that card can 'boost', or add its power to the unit in front of it. Now you attack my Vanguard."

"O-okay."

"Now I check the damage trigger," Kai revealed the top card of his deck and put it in the damage zone.

"I-I end my turn," Aichi said.

Kai smirked. "Now the battle really begins."

* * *

A card fell into the damage zone and blinked. A critical trigger. Everyone who was watching the battle stared in awe of Aichi Sendou, the supposed 'wimpy' kid who had just defeated the strongest card fighter in the store.

"Well," Kai began. He stood up and walked away. "I guess that was your card after all."

"Kai, wait!" Aichi rose from his seat, but Kai and Miwa were already out the door before he could say another word.

I smiled. "Congrats on winning your first battle Aichi! I can tell you're on the road to becoming a great Vanguard player."

Aichi blushed under my praise. "Um, thanks Nia."

"There you are!"

"Hm?" I turned around to face whoever had just said that. I chocked as soon as I saw their face. _No, no, no! _I paled and felt so sick that my head spun round and round like a Ferris wheel gone haywire. "R-Ryo?"

My older brother raised an eyebrow and said, "Yeah?"

This place just got a whole lot more crazy by the psycho who decided to mess up my life in the first place.

* * *

**What do you think? Post all your thoughts on the textbox below so I can make this story better! Probably. If my mother doesn't kill my computer first.**


	2. Dream, Vision, or Insanity?

**Hello there my dear readers, and I honestly hope you're grateful that I wrote three chapters that have been published altogether! You're welcome!**

* * *

_My older brother raised an eyebrow and said, "Yeah?"_

_This place just got a whole lot more crazy by the psycho who decided to mess up my life in the first place._

* * *

"Wh-what are you d-doing here?" My voice reached an octave higher at the end, mainly because of how much weirdness was in my brain. I bet you a rare card that there was enough in my cranium to cause a meltdown to a rock.

I still looked at my brother in shock as he continued speaking. "I knew you would be here. You know how hard it was to find you? Next time you wander off; make sure you're with Mom, Dad, or me. Mom and Dad have been freaking out ever since you vanished, or will anyway. Ah, could you pay more attention to what we're doing next time we go shopping for groceries? I swear you have the attention span of a four-year old!"

"Who's the new dude?" Izaki whispered into my ear.

My mouth set itself in a grim line and I said, "My older brother, Ryo, who is also known as the most protective brother on the planet. "

"Come on, let's get going." Ryo grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the door.

"Ah, wait! Hold on!" I said.

"No 'hold on', young lady!" Ryo chided. "We are going home no matter what!"

I groaned and turned back to the bewildered boys standing behind me. "Uh, see you guys around the shop sometime!"

Aichi gave me a nervous smile and said. "Um, bye?"

* * *

Ryo let go of my wrist as soon as he shut the door of our house, which was completely barren except for the towers of boxes balanced precariously on one another.

"Hey Mom! Dad! We're back from grocery shopping!" Ryo yelled.

"Good!" a female voice who must be my 'mother' called back. "When you're done putting them away in the fridge, unpack your things for tonight. Especially you, Nia! Don't try to forget again!"

"I won't!" Probably, given that I practically have the memory span of a goldfish. Which is about five seconds.

But they should know that, right?

* * *

I spat the rest of the foamy liquid in my mouth into the sink and twisted the knob to turn on the cold tap water. I stuck my toothbrush under the faucet and watched absentmindedly as the water washed away the minuscule bubbles. I twisted the knob back and looked in the mirror in front of me.

_How did this happen? _I thought. _It's like a dream or something. _I gripped the edge of the sink. _But everything feels so real. Is that even possible? I know dreams can trick the conscious into thinking that everything that's happening is real, but I've got an insane feeling that this is my reality, _I stared back at myself in the mirror, my mouth still in a grim line of fear. _And I'm stuck in it._ I sighed. _I better get some sleep. That way, at least I can deal with this craziness head on._

I walked back to my small cot and slipped under the thin blanket. _Home, sweet home. _I closed my eyes and let myself float away to the world of dreams. Alright, maybe it wasn't _exactly _the world of dreams, but it was _definitely _another world.

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"Ugh," I moaned. I groped my bedside table next to me and felt for the stupid alarm clock. My hand stopped when it touched a cool, sleek, arched surface. Gotcha. My fingers trailed up its face and held a strange t-shaped piece of metal, and the annoying sound sound stopped and I felt the back for the switch and flicked it. I clumsily placed it back on the table and closed my eyes.

_What a wild ride, the most hectic dream in the _history _of dreams, _I yawned and sat up in my bed. _At least now I'm back in my own house._ I groggily made my way out of my door and to the bathroom down the hall.

I'll be skipping the rest of my daily routine here, mainly because it's the same old thing: shower, brush, eat, dress, and leave. Now I better give you a proper introduction, mainly because everyone else is bugging me to do so. Who's everyone else you may ask? You'll find out soon enough.

As you know, my full name is Niyami "Nia" Kinaki. I'm fifteen, part Japanese and mainly American-because my great something grandparents were Japanese while everyone else in my family was an American.

It's the second week of my attendance at Adarity Academy, which goes from elementary to high school. It's a pretty decent and great place, but if you ever want to survive this place, you have to be careful of the popular kids in your class. Sure, there's always going to be a nice kid in the clique, but watch your back for the other ones. They are as mean as they get. As for me, I happen to grate on their nerves _a lot_ for doing _absolutely nothing_, so if you're smart, you'd probably stay out of my way if you don't want to labeled as a social outcast. I find that kind of idiotic, I mean, why would you let someone else take away your ability to make choices? I just don't get eighth graders. Anyways, I get A's with a few B's and B pluses here and there, and I have purple eyes and black hair with a strand of light blue hair in front. Even though you already knew that from the beginning, my brother is pressuring me to make a proper introduction.

Next comes my brother, Ryuko 'Ryo' Kinaki, who is the most popular kid in his eleventh grade class. He happens to be the captain of the soccer team, a straight A student, perfect role model, and what the girls in my class call 'a total hunk'. He's got tousled glossy black hair, and light green eyes, sort of like a mystical pool of energy. He's got a good build, chiseled features, and what all you girls out there would consider movie star material.

My mother and father both work as entrepreneurs of the local art galleries and a well-known theater here in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Life is good, but they still care about us kids over here. My father teaches my brother everything about business tactics and all that stuff. They tried teaching me, but that ended up in an incident involving tutors, stacks of paper, and exploding ink pens. Trust me, you don't want to know about that last part.

When that idea blew up in their faces (as in literally), they found out that I had a real gift in the arts. They began including me in the plays that were taking part in their theater, and the directors were a little skeptical, but soon were very surprised. Since I was a little on the young side, they usually had me play as an extra or sometimes as a supportive character. And my parents would sometimes give artists a way to hang their art for half off rent if they would give me some lessons. Who would think that this kid was so good in the arts?

So now that this little (not) introduction of four long paragraphs is over, I should get back to school. First came Math, next came Geography, all the way to one of my favorite subjects, Chemistry.

"Class," Ms. Nikola began. "As you know, today will be the day you switch lab partners, and because I'm feeling very generous, I'll let you decide who you would be with for the next two weeks."

The rest of my classmates didn't miss a beat. In a flash of stampeding feet, yelling, shoving, and me getting an elbow blow to the gut, everyone stood behind a counter with someone next to them. I gazed at the empty stool next to me and sighed. As I had said earlier, if you cared about your reputation, you wouldn't even give a second glance at becoming my partner for anything. So I could say goodbye to a boyfriend, even though I never cared about that anyway.

Ms. Nikola looked at the empty seat next to me and glanced to the rest of my classmates. "Come on students. There are eighteen of you, so that's no excuse for one of you to be missing a partner. Come on, which one of you is a group of three?" Her piercing black eyes swept the classroom in hopes of finding where the extra third wheel went.

One of the students in front of me raised her hand. Ms. Nikola raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, so are you volunteering to be Ms. Kinaki's lab partner?"

"No, Ms. Nikola. It's just that Ray is absent today, so someone will have to work alone," the girl looked at me and winked.

Oh no, it's that psychotic blonde that tries to make my life go to the underworld, Drew. She's one of those CCP girls (Cute, Cool, and Popular, or as I'd like to say, Crazed, Clueless, and Prissy). I cracked a smile. That gets me to laugh every time.

I began to automatically pour a bunch of chemicals into a beaker. When it comes to anything involving science, I'm the person to go to. As I poured in compound into the beaker, it started turning green. I eyed the concoction warily and took a step back. "Ms. Nikola," I called.

She looked at me and said, "Hm? Oh my!"

The green liquid in the beaker was starting to bubble, and I don't really think that was a good sign. I quickly turned off the Bunsen burner, but the concoction was already taking effect. A foul smell filled the classroom and green fog started to emit from the beaker like a drop hitting water. It starts out as a small dot, but that dot becomes the outline of a circle, growing bigger and multiplying in numbers, only stopping when it hits something on the surface of the water.

"Everyone out!"

For once, the whole class actually and _willingly_ did what the teacher said and pushed each other out the door screaming and yelling stupid things that people normally say when something bad happens.

"We're doomed!"

"It's the apocalypse!"

"I don't want to die!"

Seriously, can these people overreact anymore? It's just a simple one-oh-one stink bomb. That's when it hit me. _Stink bomb_. That would mean a single thing . . . Someone switched one of the test tubes with another! Ah, I'm idiot!

"Stupid," I muttered. There's only one person who could have done this to me. Elaina, the other CCP in my class, who is just as bad as Drew is. Only this CCP is the master of pranks, while Drew is the mistress of make-up. I'm telling you, that girl wears too much make-up and nail polish and such girly clothing. Oi, just thinking about that makes me dizzy.

I sighed as everyone in the school was rounded up to the soccer field outside.

"Nia!" I heard someone call my name. There was only one person that I know of-well, four actually-that would call my name out in public. I turned my head sideways and faced my older brother.

"Hey bro, what's up?" I sarcastically said.

He stopped short in front of me and eyed me. "What happened?"

"Elaina swapped one of my test tubes and I created a stink bomb by accident," I deadpanned.

He sighed and roughly shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I _told _them to quit it already! Ugh!"

I shook my head. "Dude, you know that's _never _going to happen unless if they take you seriously, right?"

"Which absolutely sucks," he murmured.

I shrugged and heard a loud crackle, as if someone was crumpling a gigantic piece of paper. "Attention to all students," a loud voice boomed. "Due to a small incident involving the chemistry lab, any classes there will have to be changed to free time until next week. Enjoy your lunch break!"

Everyone around me started cheering, jumping, and hollering out things like, "Good riddance!" or "Hey Nia!"

Oh wait, that last one was-

**Hey, MeiMei here! What's up-**

**MeiMei get off the computer! Sorry, but that was MeiMei, the hyperactive (and not to mention ****_extremely crazy)_**** and beautiful, and smart-**

**MEIMEI! Sorry, I'll have to let my brother take over from here while I try to find a strawberry lollipop if I ever want to save our ears.**

**Too all the fans out there reading this, my name is-**

**Alright, alright! Sorry, but the rest of my friends are screaming to get a move on to the part where they appear. Well you just have to hold your horses!**

**Back to the story, which was where again? Oh well, guess I'll have to start from my point of view until my sister comes back!**

(Ryo's Pov)

I turned just in time to see Nia being tackled by a whirlwind, which was MeiMei.

As my sister had said before, she is hyper, crazy, talkative, and exactly how my sister acts whenever she gets extremely excited. Trust me, having MeiMei talking is bad enough, but having MeiMei _and _Nia will make even the most stoic person on the face of the planet fear for their ears. MeiMei is sixteen, my age, and she has curly brown hair and bright blue eyes. Like the rest of my friends and I, she knows how to play Vanguard.

Now that I'm done with that little intro, I'll continue with why in the world MeiMei tackled my sister, not that it's uncommon for her to do that.

"Argh!" Nia yelped and landed on her-

**Off the chair bro! It's my turn to type!**

**What?! But I just got here!**

**Who cares, ****_I'm _****the one writing this story!**

**So sorry about all you having to deal with that confusion, I'll explain about it later. Which as my friend would say, never. Ha!**

(Nia's Pov)

I groaned and lifted my head, only to be greeted by the smiling face of my friend. There is only one person that I know of that can knock me down with the power of a pro football player. I let my head fall back to the ground and muttered, "Ow. MeiMei get off me."

"Okie dokie!" She chirped. MeiMei jumped off me and started bouncing like nothing had ever happened. Yeesh, just watching her makes me feel like an old lady.

"Guys, guys, guys!" She squealed. "Guesswhat?! There'sanewcardshopatthemallandthey'vegotVanguardcards,OMG!OMG!"

Sorry, but did I forgot to mention that she can talk _ridiculously _fast? Only my brother, the rest of my friends and I can make sense of what she's babbling about, so here's what she actually said: "Guess what?! There's a new card shop at the mall and they've got Vanguard cards, OMG! OMG!"

My mouth dropped. "Holy cow, are you for real?!" I grinned and jumped up and down with her. "Ah! I don't believe it!"

"Me neither!" She shouted back.

We both screamed in glee together at the same time like a group of fan girls.

My brother cringed and took his hands off his ears. "Oi! You two sound like we're at a boy band concert."

I grinned at him and said, "Who cares?! There's finally a card shop in our hometown!"

Ryo smacked his forehead. "Dear Grandma Nellie, someone save us all." He looked up to the sky with his hands pressed together, as if it'll save him the torturous-CANDY!

My brother stuck out twin strawberry lollipops right in front of us and we took it. MeiMei and I took the candy at the same time at unwrapped them. We stuck the wrappers into our pockets and popped in our mouths.

"Yummy!" We said at the same time.

Ryo sighed in relief. "Too close," he murmured.

If there's one thing that will save my brother's ears from these two eager girls is candy and a good book in my case. So it's safe to say that my brother is safe. Until we get excited again.

* * *

My eyes gleamed in excitement as I stared at the rare cards on display in the display case. The small shop was completely jam packed with kids of all ages and a few adults chaperoning their kids. You could say that there were more people here than a Yankee's baseball game.

The card shop me and my friends were at was called Card Shop Guardia, the newest and the only card shop in existence in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

"Nia, over here!" I looked around me to see who had called my name. A hand stuck out of the crowd, and I started slipping my way between spaces in the crowd to where it was. I wormed my way past someone and apparently, that someone accidentally elbowed me from behind, but luckily a friend caught me from falling flat on my face.

I looked up and was greeted by a familiar face. "Thanks for the save Ian, otherwise I would've taken a nosedive to the floor."

"No problem, it's the least I could do for you helping me with my science homework."

Ian Sintrov is a Russian friend of mine that used to live in London, then in Italy before moving here to Haverhill. He's got dark skin and black hair with serious slate gray eyes and a build slightly bigger than one for his age. He's in the same grade and class as MeiMei and Ryo, and he's the go-to guy when it comes to music and everything about it. However, he sometimes has trouble when it comes to science, so that's where I step in. Ian _always_ promises free strawberry lollipops to my brother if I help out with his science projects. To Ryo, that's basically winning your freedom after being a slave for the devil for three thousand years.

"So why were you calling me?" I asked.

He grinned. "Take a look for yourself," he stepped aside to reveal eight decks all set on a table, each in a different colored deck case. I picked up a yellow case and slid out the top card. _Little Sage, Marron, a Royal Paladin._

I gasped as another image came in mind.

_I ride, Little Sage, Marron!_

I shook my head and it went away. _My dream . . . It feels so real, but it can't be possible. It's only a dream . . . right?_

I felt a weight on my shoulder and tensed. "Hey sis."

"Huh?" I followed my gaze up and stopped once I realized who was talking to me. I blinked and replied, "Yeah, bro?"

"You've been staring off in space for a while now," Ian said.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized.

MeiMei bounced on the balls of her feet as she stared at me with wide eyes. "So which deck are you gonna pick? I've got the Neo Nectars! They're so cute!" She gushed and rubbed her light green deck against her cheek.

"Um," I placed a finger on my chin and glanced at the remaining decks on the table in front of me. My other hand hovered over the decks as I made my decision. "I'll go with . . ." A gleam caught my eye and I looked at it. My sights settled on an orchid colored case with a yellow Vanguard circle in the middle of it. A sudden spark of energy passed through my system when I brushed my fingers against it. "I choose this one."

MeiMei looked at my new deck with stars sparkling in her eyes. "So which clan is it? Show us! Show us! Show us!" She squealed.

I smiled and revealed a card from my deck. My smile instantly turned into a frown and my brows furrowed. "Destiny Guardian? What kind of clan is this?"

MeiMei, Ryo, and I turned to Ian with piercing stares.

He shook his head. "I'm not the Vanguard expert of this group, so you should ask Lucas."

I stared at my deck then back to the ones on the table. _I wonder what type of clan you are._

I slipped snugly under the covers of my own bed in my own room. I stared up at the ceiling, my heart swirling with emotions and questions.

_I hope all of this will make sense tomorrow. Or if I'll have more problems to deal with, _I sighed and slowly resigned myself into the clutches of what would hopefully be a dreamless sleep.

Though I have to ask the world one question: Why do the heroes _never _have their wishes come true?!

* * *

**What do you think? Review, comment, and hopefully give me ideas for Nia's cards!**


	3. Hitsue Junior High

**Hello, and welcome to the third (and not to mentioned _revised_) chapter of my newest story. And it's the longest chapter I've ever written by far!**

* * *

"Yo, sis! Wake up!"

I groggily opened my eyes and was instantly blinded by the harsh morning light. "Mmm, why'd you wake me?" I muttered.

"Because today is our first day at school, and it's not a good impression to be late on your first day," Ryo said.

I buried my face into my pillow and said, "Fine, I'll wake up in like, five hours."

"Alright," my brother said. "Just remember you did this to yourself."

I heard him rummaging around behind me until he found what he was looking for.

"Aha!" He said. "Let's see what we have today . . . 'Dear Diary, today I met Aichi Sendou and-'"

"RYO!" I yelled. I flushed and chucked a pillow at his head, only to miss his head and have it collide with the wall.

"'I saw Card Capital. And oh my! That Aichi Sendou is so dreamy!'"

"RYO KINAKI I DID _NOT _WRITE THAT! GIVE ME BACK MY JOURNAL!" I lunged at him and landed on his back.

"Argh!" My brother yelled.

I had a solid grip on him, and he started wobbling back and forth from the force of my tackle.

"Nia, get off!"

"Not until you hand me back my journal!"

"I mean it! Let go or else I'll-aw snap!"

My brother tipped to one side and tripped over a box.

"Wah!"

_Crash!_

"Owie," I moaned.

"You're the one who landed on me." Ryo grunted.

The door opened and my mother stepped through. She took one look at us and said, "Kids, what going on?"

"Early morning routine, Mom." We both replied at the same time.

"Just make sure you get to the table before your pancakes get cold."

"Pancakes!" I shouted in glee and pushed myself off my brother.

He yelped as I accidently kneaded him in the stomach. "Ow! Stop elbowing me!"

"Who cares?!" I yelled in glee. "Mom's making _pancakes! Pancakes!_" I hopped to my feet like a bunny rabbit and ran out the door and down the stairs to the kitchen. I slid into my chair and attacked the steaming pile of heavenly flat cakes. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking, 'That girl must love pancakes.' Only after you taste my mother's recipe for them will you _truly _see my side of things.

I gulped down my apple juice and ran back up to my bedroom to get dressed. My school's uniform was one of those sailor-type blouses, with a V-neck, necktie, and that collar thing that looks like a very tiny cape. I was wearing a grey pleated skirt and a grey and white blouse, with white socks and loafers. I would've preferred if the clothes had a different color scheme other than grey and white, no offense to anyone out there that likes grey.

I grabbed my new leather book bag and paused. I stared wide-eyed at the object sitting there on my nightstand table. "No way," I muttered. I picked it up and examined it. "How the hey did my deck get here?!" I stared at my deck in shock.

"Hey sis! Are you done yet?!"

I snapped out of my thoughts and shoved my deck in my case. "Yeah! I'ma coming!" I ran out the door and down the stairs.

I jumped down the last step and startled my brother. "Hey big bro!"

"Eh?" He shook his head and turned to me in confusion. "Nia?"

I stopped and looked at him. "You okay? You were spacing out on me there."

"I think so," He turned around and looked at our house. "Where are we?"

I looked at him strangely for a second. "We're at home. In our _house_."

He tensed and eyed the stairs. "Some weird dream."

I froze and paled. I rushed down the steps and grabbed his wrist. "Bye Mom! Me and Ryo are off to school!"

"Have fun and try not to forget your homework!" She called.

I frowned and yelled, "Hey!"

I pouted and dragged my older brother out the door and closed it.

"Would you slow down for a second?!" Ryo said as he resisted against my grip.

I looked at him from the corner of my eye and replied, "Not until we're far away enough."

"Well we're not going to get far, because I don't have my shoes on!"

I abruptly stopped and pivoted on my heel to look down at his socked feet. I reddened and thought, _Oops._

"Can't go to class without my shoes," he stated.

I scratched my chin and laughed nervously. "My bad?"

He rolled his eyes and went back inside the house. Ryo came back a bit later looking a little less ticked and a lot more serious.

"Now," he said in that no-nonsense tone that comes up whenever A) I get in trouble. B) He's angry. And the last one, C) He crossed over to this dimension in his sleep and his mind is seriously crazed up, which I'm guessing must've happened.

"What the hey is this place?!" He shouted.

I took my hands off my ears. "You're louder than me when I'm excited."

"How did we get here?! Where are we?! My brain is on overload here!" He arched his back and pulled at my cheeks the way he did whenever he gets stressed. Don't blame me if he pulls my cheeks a lot, he used to do it when we were little and it stuck with him.

I batted his hands away. "Ow. Next, we're in Vanguard. As in _we're trapped in the anime!"_ I waved my hands around like a madman-or a madwoman- for extra emphasis.

"The anime?" My brother repeated. "But that's impossible!"

I snorted. "That's what I thought until you came. I thought I have having some strange repeat of last night's dream!"

He waved his hands in front of me. "Wait, how did you know this was the anime?"

I clapped my hands together. "Simple. I saw Aichi Sendou at Card Capital yesterday."

"_Who_?"

"You'll see once we get to school-which we're going to be late if we don't skedaddle! Ah!" I yelled.

Ryo and I took off in the general direction of the school, and luckily I packed the directions or else we'd probably end up in someone's house. Oh, how irony would love it if we ended up at Kai's.

**I'd love to see that.**

**Off the computer Ian, or else I'll call-**

**Where's my darling Ian?**

**I'm off! I'm off! Don't let her get to me!**

**Too late honey bunches!**

**NO!**

**Sorry about these confusing little things, you'd get what they mean later in the story. For now, I'll just say that Ian has a not-so-very-secret admirer. (Even though he's unavailable if you get the memo)**

* * *

"Class, listen up!" the teacher clapped his hands and the chatter died. "Today we have a new student so I'd like to introduce-"

I heard footsteps coming in my direction and someone yelling, "Out of the door!"

"Say huh?" I turned around and froze. _Not ag-_

"Incoming!" the boy said.

I took a step back and turned around to make a break, but I forgot there was a door there. Apparently, my mind wasn't paying attention and didn't get that. At least I didn't kiss the door with my nose. Nope, my teacher opened the door and I accidently rammed into him, along with mystery boy over here who tripped and knocked heads with my new teacher, causing us three little Humpty Dumpty's to fall flat on top of one another.

"Ow," we all muttered.

"Mr. Mark, are you alright?" A girl approached us and asked.

"Just peachy," I grunted.

The girl looked around. "Did someone say my name?"

"Ah, no Peach," Mr. Mark, my teacher, stood up and looked around. "Now, has anyone seen my shoe? It seems to have run away!" He chuckled strangely.

Everyone took a glance around the room and looked at me.

"Why are you looking at me now? Oh, wait is it because I'm a newbie?"

Mr. Mark stared at me. "No, but I believe you have something of mine."

I looked around and noticed something fell off my head. I glanced at it and murmured, "Seriously?"

Mr. Mark bent down and slipped his foot back in his shoe. "Nice introduction, with my shoe ending up on your head and all. I've got a feeling this year will be eventful."

He straightened up and gestured to me. "Everyone, I'd like for you to meet Nia Kinaki, a new transfer from, uh, somewhere?" He scratched his chin and shrugged. "Oh well! Miss Kinaki, you can have a seat beside Mr. Sendou near the back over there."

My teacher pointed to the back but I already knew whom I would see. Aichi Sendou looked up to me wide-eyed with his mouth gaping open and closed like a fish, exactly as I remembered him yesterday.

* * *

"I didn't know you were transferring to Hitsue Junior High." Aichi said as we walked into Card Capital.

"Neither did I, up until yesterday." I responded. "So hey, do you want to have a Cardfight with me?"

He lit up like a Christmas me. "Yes! I mean if you wouldn't mind," he blushed and looked around. "What deck do you use?"

"Destiny Guardian," I said immediately.

He raised an eyebrow. "I've never heard of that clan before. Is it new?"

I shrugged. "No clue. I just got this deck yesterday, so I've been itching to test it out. Ready to go?"

He nodded. "Let's go!"

* * *

"Stand up, my Vanguard!"

"I ride Stardust Trumpeter!" Aichi said. **(Gr. 0: 5000)**

"Keeper of Keys, Selman!" I called. **(Gr. 0: 5000)**

In my mind's eye, I could envision the battle beginning on the surface of Cray. I stared straight ahead as Aichi transformed into a little girl with her red hair up in two side buns, colorful armor and of course, a trumpet in her left hand.

For me, I shone and transformed into my Vanguard, a boy with a crown on his head, a golden robe underneath white and red armor. He held a pair of keys in his hand, and looked ready to roll.

"You want to go first Aichi?"

He shook his head. "No, it's okay. You can take this one."

"Alright," I said. I touched the top card of my deck. "I stand and draw. I ride Flying Sorceress Kalia!" **(Gr. 1:6000)**

Selman disappeared in a shaft of white light, and in his place appeared a young woman dressed in q red and white sleeveless dress with rings on her arms that held the sleeves in place. It's sort of like gloves, only it's basically like sleeves. She was also wearing white ankle boots with red lines on them, and in her hand, she held a wooden staff with a red jewel topping it off. Pale pink flowers adorned the vines that encircled the staff before joining together to create a bloom at the base of the jewel.

"Next I activate Selman's skill! I move him to a rear circle and end my turn."

My previous Vanguard appeared in a circle of light behind Kalia and landed on his behind. He quickly got up and dusted himself off, hoping that the sorceress did not see that.

Aichi stared at Selman with wide eyes.

"Is there something you want to ask?" I said.

"Huh? Oh," he pointed to the card behind my Vanguard. "How did you do that?"

"Selman's ability," I said. "It's a _forerunner_, which is a type of grade 0 unit that can be called to a rearguard circle once another unit rides on top of it."

He blinked at me and stared at Selman in awe. "That's so cool! I didn't know there were cards that could do that."

"Well, don't forget that it's your turn."

**Nia Kinaki:**

**Damage- 0**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 5**

**Soul- 0**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**N-N**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman – Flying Sorceress, Kalia**

**N-N**

**Aichi Sendou:**

**Damage- 0**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 5**

**Soul- 0**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**N-N**

**N- Stardust Trumpeter**

**N-N**

I jumped back a bit and blushed. "Oh, sorry. I stand and draw. I ride Little Sage, Marron! **(Gr. 1: 8000)** And then I call Wingal!" **(Gr. 1: 6000)**

Two circles of light illuminated the battlefield, transforming Stardust into Marron with a blue dog and a dagger in its mouth close behind.

"With a boost from Wingal," Aichi continued. "Marron attacks your Vanguard!"

I looked down at my hand then back at him. "No guard."

"Trigger check," he revealed the top card of his deck to me. **(NT- Grade 2: Knight of Silence, Gallatin)**

Marron closed his eyes and raised his hand to Kalia. He yelled as lightning rose from his open book and zapped my sorceress, causing her to scream in pain.

"Damage check," I said. **(NT- Grade 1: Rose of Hope, Liana)**

"I end my turn," Aichi declared.

**Nia Kinaki:**

**Damage- 1**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 5**

**Soul- 0**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**N-N**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman – Flying Sorceress, Kalia**

**N-N**

**Aichi Sendou:**

**Damage- 0**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 1**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**N-N**

**Wingal - Little Sage, Marron**

**N-N**

"I stand and I draw. I ride, Prism Knight, Amarite!" **(Grade 2: 9000)**

Kalia was gone in a flash, and out came a woman in gleaming armor of white and purple, her black hair and violet shining in the sun. She held her hand out to show off her rainbow prism, because she wouldn't be called a prism knight without a prism.

"Then I call Rose of Hope, Liana **(Gr. 1: 6000)** and Ice Shooter!" **(Gr. 2: 9000)** I declared.

To Amarite's left, two figures appeared. The one in the front was a teenaged boy wearing winter gear and snow boots, along with a bow and arrow made of silver and ice melded together to form an indestructible element unique only to Ice Shooter. Behind him was a pretty girl in a red and green, rose-themed dress with her scarlet hair in a braid down her back. She looked up from the rose she held and smiled.

I tapped the two units on their sides. "With a boost from Liana, Ice Shooter attacks!" **(6000+9000=15000 - 8000)**

"No guard."

I closed my eyes and saw Ice Shooter raise his bow and fire an arrow towards Marron. The sage took a step back and held his arms up to defend himself, but then felt nothing. Marron peeked from his arms in confusion, and the glanced at Wingal. The dog growled and nodded above the blonde's head. Marron gazed up and caught a glimpse of a light blue substance that gleamed in the sunlight, before yelling and falling to on his head. Wingal shook his head in amusement as he smiled at how his Vanguard's hat became a frozen accessory.

"I activate Liana's counterblast," I flipped my damage card face down. "Because Ice Shooter's attack connected with your Vanguard, I check the top five cards and call a Grade 1 or 2 to an empty rearguard circle." I glanced at the cards and selected one. "I call Griffon of the Night!" **(Gr. 2: 10000)**

A gold and black griffon appeared beside Amarite and gave a roar that nearly shook everyone's ears off. Everyone on the battlefield glared at it, but he raised his head and looked the other way.

"His ability activates and I soulcharge!" I flipped over the top card of my deck and slipped it under my Vanguard, but I wasn't finished yet. "Amarite's skill is online! By superior calling, I now have four rearguards which grants Amarite an extra two thousand plus power!" **(6000+9000+2000=17000 – 8000)**

"I guard it with Flogal!" **(Shield: 10000)**

I revealed the top card of my deck. "Drive trigger check." **(NT- Grade 2: Shield Maiden, Lifanna)**

"Next, my Griffon comes in for Marron!" **(10000 – 8000)**

"No guard," Aichi bravely said.

"I end my turn," I said.

**Nia Kinaki:**

**Damage- 1**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 5**

**Soul- 0**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**N-N**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman – Flying Sorceress, Kalia**

**N-N**

**Aichi Sendou:**

**Damage- 2**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 6**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**N-N**

**Wingal - Little Sage, Marron**

**N-N**

"I stand and I draw," he smiled and I instantly knew what was coming next. He raised his hand into the sky and yelled, "Stand up, my avatar! Blaster Blade!" Aichi slammed down the card onto the Vanguard circle.

I switched my sight to the battle on Cray and watched as Marron disappeared into the light and changed into the legendary hero that I knew. I smiled as the brightness dissipated and revealed the knight in all his heroic blue and white glory. **(Gr. 2: 9000)**

"Then I call Knight of Silence, Gallatin to the left!" **(Gr. 2: 10000)**

A circle of light shone next to Aichi's Vanguard and faded to show a samurai with a blindfold over his eyes.

Aichi pointed to Prism Knight, Amarite and said, "He's swinging in at your Vanguard!" **(10000 – 9000)**

" . . ."

Aichi stared at me. "Is there something wrong?"

"You do know that Amarite gains the extra 2000 power at _all _times right?" I slowly asked.

He blushed and murmured, "Oh, sorry."

I waved my hand. "It's alright; I forgot to tell you the ability was continuous."

"Then I guess my Gallatin will attack, um," he looked at my units and made his decision. "Ice shooter."

"Intercepted by Griffon of the Night!"

Gallatin raised his two katanas and charged at Amarite, but halted Griffon appeared in front of her. The Knight of Silence jumped back and Griffon vanished.

"And also," I continued. "Since Griffon's guard was successful, I soulcharge two cards." I slipped two cards into my soul stack.

Aichi turned his Vanguard and Rearguard cards sideways. "With a boost from Wingal, my avatar is coming in!" **(6000+9000=15000 – 9000)**

"I don't guard."

"Drive trigger check," **(CT – Bringer of Good Luck, Epona) **he smiled. "Effects go to my Vanguard!"

"Damage check," **(NT – Gr. 1: Pyro Knight) (DT – Runecastor) **The second damage card flashed with a red light and I frowned. "Draw trigger activated! I draw a card and the power boost goes to my Vanguard!" **(9000+5000=14000)**

**Nia Kinaki:**

**Damage- 3**

**Counterblast- 1**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 3**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**Rose of Hope, Liana – Ice Shooter**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman – Prism Knight, Amarite**

**N – N**

**Aichi Sendou:**

**Damage- 2**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**N – Knight of Silence, Gallatin**

**Wingal Brave – Blaster Blade**

**N-N**

"Too bad it came at the end of your turn. Oh well, I stand and draw," I added a card to my hand and picked two. "I call Raging Firestorm **(Gr. 3: 11000)** and Analyzing Mechta!" **(Gr. 1: 7000)**

Amarite glanced to her right and saw that beside and behind her were two new units. The one beside her was a red-skinned warrior wearing a red and yellow breastplate strapped over a black muscle shirt, along with black pants and black combat boots with metal at the heel and toe of it to deal maximum damage.

The one behind him was a female droid wearing a helmet and visors, her pristine white mechanical limbs shining while she glanced up from her blue tablet.

"With a boost from Liana, my Ice Shooter is coming in!" **(6000+9000=15000 – 9000)**

"Guarded with Flogal!" **(Shield: 10000) **Aichi said. "I won't let you activate your skill again."

I smirked. "Nice work, you learn really fast Aichi. However, that won't be saving you from my next attack! Amarite is charging Blaster Blade with a boost of her rearguards and Selman!" **(6000+9000+2000=17000 – 9000)**

"No guard."

"Trigger check," **(NT-Gr. 1: Flying Sorceress, Kalia) **I added the card to my hand. "Next, I activate Raging Firestorm's ability! By counterblasting 2 cards, I'm able to retire one of my opponent's rearguard units!"

Aichi tensed up. "Is-is that even possible?!"

"Yup!" I replied. "Gallatin is heading to the drop zone!"

Back on the field, Raging Firestorm laughed hysterically as fire licked at his feet. The flames grew until they at his waist, twirling and swirling around him until they completed a circle of flames around him. Firestorm mimicked punching the air and the flames condensed into a ball and streaked off towards where their master desired. Blaster Blade raised his sword to defend himself, but was completely bewildered as he watched the fireball pass him. Instead, he watched in horror as Gallatin burst into flames and disintegrated into a pile of ash.

I tapped my last two cards onto their sides. "And now, here he comes again at your Vanguard!" **(5000+11000=16000 – 9000)**

Aichi's mouth set in a firm line as he declared, "I won't guard. Damage trigger." **(NT-Gr. 1: Wingal)**

I smirked. "I activate Mechta's skill! I soulblast and unflip a card," I looked back at him and said, "I end my turn."

**Nia Kinaki:**

**Damage- 3**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop zone- 0**

**Rose of Hope, Liana – Ice Shooter**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman – Prism Knight, Amarite**

**Analyzing Mechta – Raging Firestorm**

**Aichi Sendou:**

**Damage- 4**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop Zone- 1**

**N–**

**Wingal Brave – Blaster Blade**

**N-N**

"My turn," the bluenette added a card to his hand. "I stand and I draw," he took a deep breath and looked at me with fire blazing within those blue orbs. "You're a really good card fighter, Nia. I honestly mean it, but this all ends here! Final turn!"

My jaw dropped. "Say what?!"

"I call Bringer of Good Luck, Epona **(Gr. 0: 5000)** and two copies of Gallatin to the left and right!" **(Gr. 2: 10000)**

He let the cards fall into the empty rearguard circles. I bit my tongue as my breathing intensified. _He can't be serious about that final turn, right?_ I looked at my damage and his formation. _He's got a depleted hand, a semi-weak formation, while I have three damage while he has four. I highly doubt that he can declare a 'final turn' in this state._

_Unless if he pulls a bunch of triggers,_ my subconscious added. _Well, that's fantastic_, I mentally rolled my eyes.

"With Epona's boost, the Gallatin on the left is coming in!" **(5000+10000=14000 – 9000)**

"I guard it with Prism Knight Amarite **(Shield: 5000) **and Flying Sorceress Kalia!" **(Shield: 5000)**

"Next, my avatar comes in after you!" **(5000+9000=14000 - 9000)**

I bit my lip and glanced at my hand. "I don't guard."

"Trigger check," **(ST-Gr.0: Flogal)** I gasped as the card lit up. _You _have _to be_ _crazy insane kidding me!_

"All effects Gallatin and he stands up once more!" He yelled. "And now, he's coming in!" **(10000+5000=15000 – 9000)**

"No guard!" I said. _Mainly because you don't have anything to guard with._ "Damage check." **(Raging Firestorm)****  
**

I quickly glanced at my formation and inwardly sighed lin relief. _This is good, this is fine. I have an intercept sitting on my field, and Gallitin's power is about the same as my Vanguard's. So all I have to do is defend this turn and hope for a miracle on mine._

"I activate my avatar's counterblast!"

I sucked in my breath. _Ah nuts, I totally forgot about Blaster Blade's ability!_

"By flipping over two cards, I get to retire one of your rearguard units!" Aichi declared.

My mind switched to the battlefield. I held my breath as Blaster Blade struck the ground with his sword, and a streak of lightning shot out of it and shot through the ground before retiring my intercept.

I hesitantly picked up Ice Shooter and placed him in my Drop Zone.

"And now," He pointed his cards at my Vanguard. "The Gallatin on the right charges in after Amarite once more!"

I looked at my hand. _A grade three . . . That's not going to work. _"I'll let that through."

I froze and watched in shock as Gallatin ran in and raised his sword. My Vanguard relaxed and closed her eyes and smiled. _I guess this is the best I could do with this battle. I'll have to accept defeat._

The last card flipped itself over and slipped into the damage zone. _No heal triggers for me this time._ I smiled at him softly and said, "You win."

**Nia Kinaki:**

**Damage- 6**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 1**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop zone- 1**

**Rose of Hope, Liana – Ice Shooter**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman – Prism Knight, Amarite**

**Analyzing Mechta – Raging Firestorm**

**Aichi Sendou:**

**Damage- 4**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 2**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop Zone- 1**

**Bringer of Good Luck, Epona – Knight of Silence, Gallatin**

**Wingal Brave – Blaster Blade**

**N- Knight of Silence, Gallatin**

"Wow, that was amazing Aichi!"

My smile faded and Aichi and I glanced at the voice. Standing beside us was a petit girl with milky skin and peach-colored hair in a short bob. She looked to be about, what, twelve maybe? She wore a navy sailor uniform with red lining and a cute hat with a red ribbon on it to complete the outfit. I have to say, what she's wearing is a whole lot better than the uniform _I'm _wearing.

The boy across from me jerked back and said in disbelief, "Emi?! Wh-What are you d-doing he-here?!"

Emi is Aichi's little sister by the way. They may not look or act alike, but they are siblings without a doubt.

Emi smiled at him and said, "I followed you here silly! And I brought someone who's looking for his-"

A flash of black caught the corner of my eye and I glanced at it. "Ryo? How'd you get here?"

My brother turned to me and waved. "Emi brought me here. When she said she was looking for Aichi, I took a wild guess and thought you would be here too."

"Well you were right, we just finished our game," I said. "Uh, how long were you standing there?"

"Enough to hear Aichi declare 'final turn'. I thought he was kidding when he said that."

I chuckled. "So did I. Until he pulled off that critical trigger."

"So, Destiny Guardian huh?" He picked up one of my cards. "It's an interesting clan, that's for sure," he glanced over at my field. "There's no type of race for it! It's like a mash-up of different clans in one!"

I nodded. "Yeah, we'll have to take it to Lucas tomorrow. Maybe he can get heads or tails of this."

He shrugged. "And if not . . . Then this is going to be a real mystery clan on our hands."

* * *

**And done! Thank you for reading my first battle everyone! Please comment on whether or not if I made any mistakes with the units. Sorry, but my head was dizzy trying to figure it out. That and I'm stuck on a train with no Wi-Fi to check out the cards. Any ideas for new cards for Nia are welcomed!**

**Oh, and for all you viewers out there that know , you can find all of Nia's units that have been mentioned in this chapter here onim/selectCard/goal/DC/game_id/96/filter_author/silverstar64**

**Peace out homeys!**


	4. The 'Great One'

**Chapter four my peeps! Read on! And if I get any of the card's ability's wrong, it was because I'm still new to Vanguard and don't know the limitations of each and every single ability there is.**

* * *

I leaned over Lucas's shoulder to see the screen. "So do you know what type of deck it is?"

He glanced at me and shrugged.

Before continuing, I'll tell you about Lucas. He's our resident Vanguard expert and deck builder. If there's anyone who can build a deck or instantly identify a unit, it's him. He's the same age as my brother and the rest of my friends, only there's a slight problem. Lucas is mute. At school anyway, not when he's at home. You see, Lucas _never _speaks at school, or even around his friends (A.K.A, us) for reasons unknown. So he uses electronics to communicate. Be it his phone or computer, he'll open up a typing program and type down a message for all to read.

I sighed, "Oh, well thanks anyway."

I turned around to leave, but then he grabbed my sleeve.

"Yeah?" I asked.

He went back to the computer and opened up Microsoft Word, and then began typing out a message.

**_Hold on, before you go, I _****did ****_find something out about the deck you're using. The races your units are from multiple clans, as well as their abilities._**

I raised an eyebrow and he turned to me. Lucas went back to his computer and typed out another message.

**_Races are like Cray's version of Nationalities, like Chinese, American, etc. etc._**

"Ah," I nodded my head. That makes a lot more sense.

**_I also found multiple abilities related to specific clans according to the races your units belong to. For example, if your unit is a dragon-type unit, then it will have abilities related to the clans in the Dragon Empire._**

"That's interesting," I said.

**_I know. However, I also found a connection to all of your cards. Most clans are related on some kind of theme, like how the Bermuda Deltas are made up of mermaids, or how the Nova Grapplers are machines. Destiny Guardians are a mix of all of those clans at once, but they also contain a special ability. Around half of your cards are able to 'borrow' the abilities of their comrades, which means they can copy an ability without having to pay that certain abilities' cost._**

"Oh man," I said. "That sounds wicked awesome!"

**_Not only that,_** he continued, **_but some of those units can also 'steal' an ability from your opponent's rearguards. It'll be able to copy an ability of your choice while preventing your opponent from activating that ability during your turn._**

"Double awesome!" I cried.

**_Isn't it? However, I still don't get how you have a deck like this. I checked 'Destiny Guardian' up online, but I didn't get any hits. Well, any hits that would give me an answer. Apparently, your deck is something no one has ever seen before. _**

I looked at my deck. "Whoa, so it's not even out yet?" I grinned as giddiness welled up in me. _This is so cool! I could have a never-before-seen deck that isn't out yet sitting in my hand!_

Lucas tapped my arm and pointed to the screen. I glanced and noticed that he wrote something else while I was off in LaLa land.

**_Actually, I'm not sure it's even supposed to exist._**

My jaw dropped. "Wait, so it's illegal?!"

He shook his head.

**_No._**

I sighed.

**_Unless if the person who created this deck was a crazy Vanguard guy who was also a con artist, which would mean you'll be arrested soon._**

I tensed and shivered. "Arrested?!"

**_Joking, Nia._**

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Well it was a very mean one."

**_What I'm trying to say, is that the deck you're using is something unique and mysterious. You got it at that card shop in the mall, but they didn't have another deck like yours when you asked. Correct?_**

"Got that right," I said. "I thought that they just had it out of stock."

**_No, but your deck is special that's sure._**

I glanced at my deck once again. "Special . . . Would mean mysterious and strange."

* * *

The last and final card slipped off my deck and sat next to the other five lined up in a row. I smiled at my brother. "Neat-o bro! You won!"

He scoffed. "Only because of that draw trigger. If it weren't for the plus five-thousand power to my final attack, I would've been in deep trouble."

I cocked my head and smirked. "Is that so? Oh well, it wouldn't look good on your résumé that you're little sister beat you in a Cardfight."

"Yeah," he murmured as he continued gathering his cards.

I eyed him warily. "Spill it. I know that look, and when you've got it, it means something confuses you, and if something confuses you, then it means that it is weird, strange, and completely unexplainable."

"Don't worry," He said. "It's nothing."

I shook my head. "Quit it. If you're using those clichéd lines from those shows and books and whatnot, it means you are _definitely _hiding something."

Ryo turned to me. "I'm serious! It's only some kind of crazy dream."

I froze and stared at him. _It couldn't be possible that . . . Maybe . . . _I cautiously asked, "What happened in it?"

He propped his elbow up on the table and laid his head on it. "Well, it was really crazy. I remember waking standing up near the stairs, and then you came down and said we had to go to school."

I held my breath. _Exactly what happened in my last dream_. "What happens next?" I pressured.

"I asked where I was," he replied. "And then you got all frantic, and you dragged me outside, but I had to go back in the house because I needed my shoes."

I paled even further.

"So next-"

I cut him off because I had a sinking feeling I already knew what happened after that. "-I explained to you that we were in another dimension where the anime came to life, and then we went to school, and after school you tagged along with Emi Sendou and found me finishing a Cardfight with Aichi."

He blinked. "Oh. My. Vanguard. _It was real?!_" He screeched.

"Shhh!" I looked around at the eyes watching us around the store as if we were aliens. I glanced at them and laughed. "Sorry everyone, I just picked up this really rare card, and my brother believed that it wasn't legit, so, well, you know."

My body language should be so obvious to a five-year-old that I was lying, but I guess these people were all too focused on their card games to notice that huge detail. They just went back to staring at their cards and playing them out.

I glared at Ryo and whisper-screamed, "Are you from the Dark Zone or something?! We don't need anyone else knowing about his!"

"My bad," he apologized. "But are you for real? Did we really meet the characters from Vanguard?" My brother asked giddily. "If so, then this must be a dream come true."

"Definitely a dream, that's for sure," I said.

"But why were we there in the first place?" Ryo asked. "I don't get it, why were a couple of kids like us chosen for this?"

I thought for a moment. "Maybe we're part of this ancient clan that's in charge of protecting the two worlds of Cray and Earth, or something like that."

He shook his head. "Nah, that's too crazy."

I laughed. "And the fact that we met the gang from the anime isn't?"

He shrugged and grinned. "Maybe."

"So," I said. "How did school go?"

"Eh, the usual. Fan girls at the table in lunch, straight A's-"

"I didn't mean that, genius!" I whacked him upside the head and he yelped. "I meant that if you saw Kai and Miwa back in anime world yet."

He rubbed his head and replied, "Yeah, they're in the same class as me and I even struck a conversation with 'em. Alright, I only got to talk to Miwa and Kai just looked out the window."

"Sounds like him," I snickered. "But still, what part of the anime do you think we're at?"

"The first season from what I see," he said. "It can't be the third one because Morikawa and Izaki would be in the same class as me and in the second season . . ."

He didn't say anything.

"What, is there some freaky dude behind me or something?"

My brother sweat dropped and shook his head. "No, I just don't have any differences to compare."

I yawned and stretched my arms out. "We'll find more clues tonight. Let's go home, 'cause I think 21 card fights in a row is good enough for now."

* * *

I woke up back in the Vanguard world and rubbed my eyes. I yawned and stretched as I glanced at the clock. Nine forty-five, not a bad time to wake up on my first weekend here in another universe.

I sat up in my bed and yawned once more before getting ready to head out into the world, and by world, I mean Card Capital with my big brother if he wants to. I slipped off my bed and went to my closet to choose which clothes to wear for that day.

Yes, I know, standard issue 101 here people! Since this is a book and not a movie, I _have_ to describe what things look like, otherwise the future parts of the story won't make _any _sense _at all._

So yeah, I went with the first thing that popped into my head; a white tee with purple brushstrokes, ripped distressed jean shorts, a light-wash jean jacket with purple paint splatters on the front and back, and purple deck shoes.

My black hair was in its usual side braid with a purple feather flower tie holding it in place. What? My favorite color is purple, so sue me. I dropped my deck case into my black book bag with magenta flowers all over it and slung it over my shoulder.

I opened the door, closed it behind me as I ran down the steps, and slid into my seat at the table. "So, what's cooking?"

"Standard American," Ryo replied. He took a bite of his toast and said, "Bacon and eggs with bread and butter."

Yum. I went to the kitchen and grabbed my eating utensils before filling my plate up with food. A strip of bacon, a small egg, and a piece of toast.

**You need to eat more, sis.**

**Well, sorry mister! Not all of us have stomachs as huge as a continent!**

**True, but you're so skinny!**

**Bro, just keep it down and let me type before I sick Raging Firestorm on you!**

**But he'll burn down the house!**

**Then I'll send one of my Pale Moon beasts after you!**

**Then they'll ****_tear _****the house down!**

**Who cares! I'ma writing here! Story in construction! Argos, be a good boy and look after him.**

**Not him! Anyone but Ar-gah!**

After finishing my breakfast and cleaning my plate, I picked up bag. "Hey, bro, are you going to Card Capital today?"

He snickered. "Of course I am!" He picked up his deck and snapped it onto his belt. "Let's see what episode today brings us."

* * *

"I don't know what's going on!"

_Bam!_

I groaned as I lifted my face from the ground. "Ow. How many times am I going to be a cushion for someone?!" I strained my eyes to the side to see who ran into me this time, and lo and behold, it was Aichi.

He blushed and quickly got off me. "Ah! N-Nia, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were there!"

"It's fine," he offered me his hand and I took it. Aichi tugged on my hand and the momentum got me back on my feet. "Thanks."

Emi came out of the store and frowned. "Aichi, you need to be more careful! You're lucky that this girl isn't hurt!"

I blinked at her and said, "Oh, it's you."

"Huh?" She looked back between my brother and me and realization lit her face. "You're the two from then!"

My brother nodded. "Nice to see you again, Emi."

"That jerk!" The doors slid open to reveal an extremely ticked off Kamui glaring daggers at my brother.

I'll make this one short for the sake of not getting covered with rotten tomatoes by angry fans; Kamui Katsuragi uses the Nova Grapplers, is at the current age of twelve, and is your regular hotheaded guy who is in love with Aichi's little sister, Emi.

There, now all of you experienced people out there won't decide to come to my house and strangle me alive.

Ryo gulped and backed up. "Uh, hi?"

"No one hits on my girl and gets away with it!" He yelled. He pointed at my brother and shouted, "I challenge you to a battle!"

Aichi rubbed the back of his head. "Um, actually Kamui-"

Kamui must have cotton in his ears or something because he completely ignored him. "And then afterwards, I challenge you to a battle for hurting Aichi!" He pointed to me and I looked around.

I blinked and said, "You mean me?"

"You tripped Aichi on purpose back there," he declared. "So I'm going to beat you into a pulp!"

I smiled and said, "You're on, dude."

* * *

"Awww, man!" Ryo groaned. "I lost to a middle schooler!"

The boy across the table laughed. "That's because you went against me, the great Kamui!"

"He's the Great One!" A boy said.

Another one said, "GO, yo!"

The first one who spoke is Reiji Uno, one of Kamui's friends and fans. He wears glasses and has his hair in a ponytail. The boy who said, 'yo' is another friend of Kamui, named Eiji Saga. He speaks hip-hop and always speak in initials with a 'yo' at the end of his sentences. Both of them uses-duh-Nova Grapplers like their idol over there, but I've never seen what they're capable of yet in any of the seasons of the Vanguard anime.

"Now," he said. Kamui turned to me with an intense stare and said, "It's your turn to be crushed by the Great Kamui!"

I took my deck out of its case and placed it on the table. "Let's do this, little dude!"

He scowled. "Let's see how you do when I'm through with you! Stand up-"

"-my-," I added.

"Vanguard!" We both yelled.

"I ride Keeper of Keys, Selman!" **(Gr. 0: 5000)**

"Battleraizer!" **(Gr. 0: 5000)**

I drew my hand and quickly analyzed them. _Two grade threes and three more grade twos._ I picked two cards in my hand, slid them to the bottom of my deck, and redrew before shuffling. I placed my deck back onto the table and looked at the cards I drew. _I only got a grade one and another grade two . . . Looks like I'll have to make this work._

"I'll go second," Kamui announced.

I didn't see any problem with that. "Alright, I'll stand and draw."

I took the top card of my deck and added it to my hand. _That's better._ "I ride Celestial Muse, Coria!" **(Gr. 1: 7000) **I stacked the card on top of Selman and envisioned the battle on Cray.

I slipped my pointer finger under Coria and slid Selman back behind Coria. "Activating Selman's skill! Since he's a forerunner, I'm able to call him to any rearguard circle if I ride a unit of the same clan on top of it. Then, Coria's skill becomes active! By dropping a card from my hand, I check the top five cards of my deck and add a grade one to my hand." I glanced at the cards and slipped one into my hand. I looked back at Kamui and said, "I end my turn."

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 0**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 5**

**Soul- 0**

**Drop zone- 0**

**N – N**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman** **(Gr. 0: 5000)**** – ****Celestial Muse, Coria (Gr. 1: 7000)**

**N – N**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 0**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 5**

**Soul- 0**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**N –N**

**N – Battleraizer (Gr. 0: 5000)**

**N- N**

"Then I stand and draw," he stared intently at the card before smirking. "Now you'll see why I like going second. I ride Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout!" **(Gr. 1: 7000)**

The mechanical droid across the field instantly transformed into-

My Vanguard crinkled her nose and blinked at her opponent's Vanguard. An octopus with shades and a headset with a red bowtie. Coria stared at it in dismay as it continued yelling random phrases as if it was at a football game. Actually, on second thought, it looked like it _should _be at a football game with the way it's acting. My Vanguard shook her head and raised her lyre. He might look ridiculous, but he might be trouble.

The supposed 'Great One' tapped his hand on the Vanguard circle. "I activate Battleraizer's skill and move him to the rearguard. Then I call Queen of Heart **(Gr. 1: 6000)** and attack with Battleraizer's boost!" **(6000+5000=11000 7000)**

I looked at my hand. "I won't guard. Damage check," I flipped over the top card of my deck and placed it in the drop zone. **(NT-Analyzing Mechta)**

"Then, my Vanguard's coming in!" **(7000 = 7000)**

I removed a card from my hand. "It's guarded with Runecastor!" **(Shield: 10000)**

"Trigger check," **(NT-Hungry Dumpty)** Kamui looked at the card and frowned. "No trigger. I end my turn and return Battleraizer to my deck and shuffle it."

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 1**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 0**

**Drop zone- 1**

**N – N**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman** **(Gr. 0: 5000)**** – ****Celestial Muse, Coria (Gr. 1: 7000)**

**N – N**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 0**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 5**

**Soul- 0**

**Drop Zone- 0**

**N –N**

**N – Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout (Gr. 1: 7000)**

**N - Queen of Heart (Gr. 1: 6000)**

"Stand and draw," I read the new card in my hand and adjusted my strategy. "I ride Beast Caller, Reyna!" **(Gr. 2: 8000)**

I blinked back onto the field and felt a rush of andreline course through my veins. I opened my eyes and glanced at my new form. I wore a blue leotard with knee high boots and my silver hair tied in a high ponytail over my head. I eyed the black whip with aquamarine studs sharpened to a lethal point circling around the tail. I smirked at my opponent as he backed off in fear.

"Then, I call Shield Maiden, Lifanna to the left and** (Gr. 2: 9000) **activate Reyna's skill! I soulcharge one card and counterblast another to superior call a Highbeast or Warbeast to the rearguard." I picked up my deck and leafed through it until I found what I was looking for. "Superior calling Griffon of the Night to the right, **(Gr. 2: 8000)** and activate Griffon's and my Vanguard's other skill!" "

I mentally smirked once I saw Kamui's surprised face. "What's wrong?" I taunted. "Never seen two abilities activated at once?"

He shook his head and quickly regained his courage again. "Hah! As if something like that will freak the Great Kamui out!"

"That's good, because there's more coming your way!" I declared.

Kamui jerked his head down a few inches and regarded me with a level gaze. His guard is up, meaning that now is the time to strike while he's confused.

I took another card from the top of the deck and slipped it under my Vanguard. "By soulcharging another card, my Vanguard gains plus two-thousand power at all times!

I smirked. "And there's more."

The rest of his confidence drained away. Kamui jerked back and said, "Say wha-?"

"By soulblasting 3 cards from the soul, my Shield Maiden's ability activates and I get to draw a card," I tapped my Shield Maiden sideways. "Now, I attack your Vanguard!" **(9000 7000)**

"No guard, damage check." **(NT-King of Sword)**

"And next," I turned Beast Caller, Reyna sideways. "My Vanguard is coming in with Selman's boost and her activated skill!" **(8000+5000+2000=15000 7000)**

Kamui took a breath and said, "I won't guard that one either."

"Trigger check," I flipped over a card and showed it to Kamui. **(NT-Rose of Hope, Liana)**

Back on the field, my Vanguard grinned eerily and brought out her whip. She uncurled it as she ran towards Shout, who was running back and forth in a panic. Reyna leapt high into the air and brought her whip crashing down onto the octopus, lashing repeatedly a few more times before jumping back to her allies.

Kamui revealed his damage card to me before putting it into his damage zone.

"And now, Griffon of the Night attacks!" **(8000 7000)**

Kamui took a card from his hand and placed it in the Guardian circle. "Your attack is cancelled by Eisenkugel!" **(Shield: 5000)**

My Vanguard watched as Griffon roared and charged towards the octopus. Shout panicked and closed his eyes, only to open them and see that a robot had taken the hit for him. Shout sighed in relief as Eisenkugel disappeared in a shower of dust and Griffon stalked back.

"I end my turn," I declared.

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 1**

**Counterblast- 1**

**Hand- 5**

**Soul- 1**

**Drop zone- 0**

**N – Shield Maiden, Lifanna (Gr. 2: 9000)**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman** **(Gr. 0: 5000)**** – ****Beast Caller, Reyna (Gr. 2: 8000)**

**N – Griffon of the Night (Gr. 2: 8000)**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 2**

**Counterblast- 0**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 0**

**Drop Zone- 1**

**N – N**

**N – Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout (Gr. 1: 7000)**

**N - Queen of Heart (Gr. 1: 6000)**

Kamui smirked and yelled, "Alright! Now it's time to show you what I've got! I ride Brutal Jack **(Gr. 2: 11000)** and slide Queen of Heart back to call Hungry Dumpty!" **(Gr. 2: 9000)**

I tensed up and sharpened my senses. I knew _exactly _what Brutal Jack was capable of, and according to Kamui's damage, it can attack up to two times this turn.

He turned Jack sideways. "I pay the cost and release Jack into high gear after your Vanguard!" **(11000 10000=2000+8000)**

"I guard it with Flying Sorceress, Kalia!" **(Shield: 5000)**

He smirked and touched the top card of his deck. "Trigger check," **(CT-Shining Lady)** "Critical trigger is activated!" He yelled. Kamui pointed his cards to Jack and yelled, "All effects to my Vanguard!" **(11000+5000=16000 13000=5000+2000+8000)**

I gritted my teeth and checked the damage. **(NT-Ocean Depth Dragon)(NT-Sanctuary Sphinx)** "No triggers there."

The middle school kid moved his last two standing units to the rest position. "Finally, Hungry Dumpty is after your Vanguard with support from Queen of Heart!" **(6000+9000=15000 10000=2000+8000)**

I slid Griffon onto the Guardian circle with another card from my hand. "Your attempt won't get pass my Griffon of the Night and Prism Knight, Amarite! **(Shield: 5000+5000=10000)**

"And since the guard was successful," I added. "I get to soulcharge two cards from the top of my deck!"

Kamui smirked and said, "As if that will do you any good! Let's see how you make a cone black to that!"

I stared at him in confusion. "Cone black . . . ?"

Misaki sighed. "He means 'comeback'."

"Oh," I mused. "That makes total sense." I'd forgotten that Kamui would always get phrases mixed up.

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 3**

**Counterblast- 1**

**Hand- 3**

**Soul- 3**

**Drop zone- 3**

**N – Shield Maiden, Lifanna (Gr. 2: 9000)**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman** **(Gr. 0: 5000)**** – ****Beast Caller, Reyna (Gr. 2: 8000)**

**N – N**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 2**

**Counterblast- 1**

**Hand- 3**

**Soul- 1**

**Drop Zone- 1**

**N – N**

**N – Brutal Jack (Gr. 2: 11000)**

**Queen of Heart (Gr. 1: 6000) - Hungry Dumpty (Gr. 2: 9000)**

"Stand and draw," I picked up a card and added it to my hand. "I ride Soul Seer!" **(Gr. 3: 11000)**

My vision wavered a bit to reveal the battle happening on Cray. My Vanguard winked at Brutal jack before disappeared in a flash of light. Her bright silhouette changed its form before showing me the unit I had put into play. The light swirled around Soul Seer before jerking away like they were scared of her, which it should.

Brutal Jack glared at her, and my sight returned to reality. I watched Kamui as he glared at me too, just like Brutal Jack did back in Cray.

I took my mind off my surroundings and glanced at my hand. I took a card out of it and placed it on a rearguard circle. "And I also activate Seer's skill! Since I called her to the Vanguard circle, I'm able to soulcharge up to two cards."

I slipped a couple of cards from my deck and put them into my Vanguard's soul. I picked a card of my hand and placed it on an empty Rearguard circle. "Then I call Rose of Hope, Liana behind Lifanna!"

A glow started to emit behind Lifanna and she turned around to see what unit had been called into battle to support her. She waited impatiently as the light faded away in a shower of rose petals. The petals started swirling around and around the new unit, faster and faster until the petals formed a small tornado. The unit soon decided that now was the time to reveal herself to her comrades and enemies. The petals burst above the field and showered everyone with their beauty as they stared at a very pretty girl in a dress made of rose petals and thin vines.

Rose of Hope, Liana regarded them above her ruby red rose and smiled.

"With her boost, Lifanna's in it to win it!" **(6000+9000=15000 11000)**

Kamui glanced at his hand, then at me. "No guard."

Liana brushed her red lips against the petals of her rose. She pulled back and winked as she pointed her rose a Lifanna. The angel in front of her glowed as she received her power and attacked Brutal Jack.

Lifanna rose into the air and held up her shield for all to see. It emitted a light, dim and small at first before growing as bright as a new sun. Jack stepped backwards but couldn't dodge the attack. Lifanna's shield shot out a beam of white-hot energy that scorched Brutal Jack and sent him reeling backwards.

"Damage check." Kamui flipped over a card and showed it to me. **(NT-Mr. Invincible)**

"Thanks to that attack," I said. "I get to activate Liana's skill."

Kamui glared at me as I calmly flipped over a card in my Damage zone and checked the top five cards of my deck. I frowned at my luck. "No grade one or two's to superior call."

I shook my disappointment off and tapped my Vanguard and her support sideways. "Now Seer's after Brutal Jack with Selman's boost!" **(5000+11000=16000 11000)**

"I won't guard that one either!" My opponent bravely declared.

I glanced at his hand. _He's only got three cards left in his hand and a half-full formation. If you include the three cards he'll be receiving next turn - from his draw and twin drive- he should have guarded it. _I narrowed my eyes. _What are you planning?_

"Twin drive check," I took two cards into my hand and turned them over at once. **(NT- Flying Sorceress, Kalia)(NT- Ice Shooter) **I added the cards to my hand and announced, "I pass the turn over to you."

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 3**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 5**

**Drop zone- 3**

**Rose of Hope, Liana (Gr. 1:6000) – Shield Maiden, Lifanna (Gr. 2: 9000)**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman** **(Gr. 0: 5000)**** –****Soul Seer (Gr. 3: 11000)**

**N – N**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 4**

**Counterblast- 1**

**Hand- 3**

**Soul- 1**

**Drop Zone- 1**

**N – N**

**N – Brutal Jack (Gr. 2: 11000)**

**Queen of Heart (Gr. 1: 6000) - Hungry Dumpty (Gr. 2: 9000)**

He drew a card and smiled. "Now it's time to crank it up a blotch!"

I stared at him and said, "You mean 'crank it up and notch'."

He froze and gave me a shaky grin. "Uh, yeah! That's what I meant."

Kamui vigorously shook his head and slammed down a card on his Vanguard circle. "I ride Mr. Invincible, **(Gr. 3: 10000) **and call Brutal Jack to the side!" **(Gr. 2: 11000)**

I watched across the battlefield as Jack lifted his triangle-shaped head as rings of light emitted from the ground around him.

The Rearguard circle next to him started emitting circles too.

All of a sudden in a flash of light,

**Yikes, sis. You need to say something else other than 'flash of light' in your story.**

**You try writing then, Ryo. 'Cause I can't think of anything else to say.**

**Of course you can! There's, uh . . . um . . .**

**See? Told ya!**

**I should-****_are you writing everything I say down?!_**

**Let's see, it's in bold lettering, I mentioned your name, so yeah.**

**_Erase it immediately or else I'll read your journal!_**

**Sorry, no can do! ARGO! RYO'S GOT A NEW CHEW TOY FOR YOU!**

**NIA!**

**Ruff! Ruff!**

As I was writing down before I was _rudely interrupted,_ two new units appeared in a flash of light.

The Vanguard was what looked like a blue superman wannabe,

**Dude! That's my Vanguard you're talking about!**

**. . . You want me to call Nagisa?**

**NO!**

**. . . Thought so.**

And the second one was yet another _Brutal Jack._ My Vanguard sighed and stared daggers at Jack, who returned the same gaze with his red LED eyes.

"Now I pay the cost and kick Jack into High gear!" **(11000 11000)**

I slammed a card down between our fields. "Not gonna happen with Ice Shooter in the way." **(Shield: 5000)**

He shrugged and said, "Eh, no big feel."

"_Deal," _I corrected.

"Who cares?!" He shouted. "Mr. Invincible is attacking Lifanna!" **(10000 9000)**

"No guard," I said. I slid Lifanna off to the edge of the table before hitting the end. I rose my hand and placed her in the drop zone before looking at Kamui for his next move.

_Smart, _I commented in my head. _Taking out Lifanna so he doesn't have to deal with Liana's counterblast. That way, I won't be able to superior call and fill up my formation._

"Trigger check," The orange-wearing kid turned over two cards. **(NT- Dancing Wolf)(NT- Asura Kaiser)** "Well, you're lucky this time kid."

I glared at him. "Kid?" I dangerously hissed.

He ignored my comment and tapped Dumpty and Queen of Heart to the side. "And now, Hungry Dumpty boosted by my Queen is attacking your Vanguard!" **(6000+9000=15000 11000)**

"It goes through," I said. My eyes trailed to my Destiny Guardian deck as I moved a card into the damage zone. **(CT-Fire Ifirit)**

I glared at the card as it shone its shiny gold critical trigger in the top corner. _Oh, so you decide to show yourself now. Well, good for you! _My sarcastic self thought. "All effects to Soul Seer." I dully said.

"Humph," Kamui puffed up his chest and smirked at me. "Your turn."

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 3**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 3**

**Soul- 5**

**Drop zone- 5**

**Rose of Hope, Liana (Gr. 1:6000) – N**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman** **(Gr. 0: 5000)**** –****Soul Seer (Gr. 3: 11000)**

**N – N**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 4**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop Zone- 1**

**N – Brutal Jack (Gr. 2: 11000)**

**N – Mr. Invincible (Gr. 3: 10000)**

**Queen of Heart (Gr. 1: 6000) - Hungry Dumpty (Gr. 2: 9000)**

Kamui looked back to me with his usual arrogant face, but I got some weird feeling at the back of my head. He was planning on doing something last turn . . . But what?

I took my mind off of my surroundings and glanced at my hand. I took a card out of it and placed it on a rearguard circle. "Callin' Flying Sorceress, Kalia **(Gr. 1: 8000)** in front of Liana and I'm attacking your Mr. Invincible!" **(6000+8000=14000 10000)**

Kalia straightened as she felt her comrade's energy course through her. All of a sudden, without any warning at all, Kalia shot off in a streak of red and white towards Mr. Invincible. She swung her staff to the side and chanted a spell, muttering in some language that I bet only Runecastor knew.

The flower that was at the jewel's base bloomed into a dotted red tiger lily along with the jewel. The staff let out a low humming sound like the calm before the storm, then _bam!_ Kalia unleashed a wave of red light that oddly smelled like a burning mixture of salt and vanilla. A weird note, but who's listening? I'm just relaying what was going on the battlefield in my head, so it's not like it's of any use to you guys.

A huge explosion rocked the terrain up and down like a high-powered seesaw, making everyone but Kalia get a free karate-style massage by a black belt who lived in the mountains most of his life. Free things were always the cheapest and worst types of services a person can get.

The dust cloud that shrouded the whole field in obscurity settled down. My Vanguard raised her eyebrow and Liana regarded Mr. Invincible with wide eyes. I could see why, _because another unit had idiotically went up in front of him and guarded the attack._

I watched with a very prominent tick mark on my head as Kamui nonchalantly dropped a card into the space behind his deck. "Sorry, but your attack is useless.

I rested two fingers on my Vanguard and turned her horizontally. "Soul Seer is after Brutal Jack!" **(5000+11000=16000 10000)**

"Guarded with Hungry Dumpty!" **(Shield: 5000)**

"Drive trigger check," I turned over the top two cards of my deck and revealed them to Kamui. **(NT-Ocean Depth Dragon)(NT-Sanctuary Sphinx)**

"Tch," I muttered. "I end my turn."

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 3**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 5**

**Soul- 3**

**Drop zone- 5**

**Rose of Hope, Liana (Gr. 1: 6000) – Flying Sorceress, Kalia (Gr. 1: 8000)**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman** **(Gr. 0: 5000)**** –****Soul Seer (Gr. 3: 11000)**

**N – N**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 4**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 3**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop Zone- 3**

**N – Brutal Jack (Gr. 2: 11000)**

**N – Mr. Invincible (Gr. 3: 10000)**

**Queen of Heart (Gr. 1: 6000) - N**

"Right," the grade schooler across me drew a card. He glanced at it then back to me, and that irritating sneer of his grew even bigger as anything that's bigger than Texas! Asia maybe? No, that's too big. Maybe Mexico? Yeah, I'll go with that.

Beside the point, this guy was _really_ testing my limits now. I am getting sick and tired of his arrogant act! As soon as the episode where Kamui and Aichi goes to Card Shop Handsome, (which has the strangest name. I thought whoever owned that shop was a narcissist!) I am going to find Nagisa and have her tackle him!

**So it was ****_you_**** who told her I was going to be there!**

**Dude, she was going to find out about your visit anyway. Just look at the anime!**

**Still! How would ****_you _****like it if I wrote about that guy you've been swaning over so much?**

**_Swooning, _****and I don't like-**

**Who are you talking about now?**

**Eek! Delete, delete, ****_delete!_**

Kamui spun the card between his fingers.

I just stared at him impatiently, thinking, _Baka, always the dummies that show off._

FYI (For Your Info)'baka' means 'idiot' in Japanese, and that's your daily dose of the Japanese dictionary here, people! Thanks for coming!

Oi, I need to stop switching between writing about the battles and thoughts, and real-life conversations! Back to the fight!

Then he slammed his card down on an empty Rearguard circle. "I play King of Sword **(Gr. 2: 10000) **followed up with Dancing Wolf for my Vanguard's support!"

He tapped Brutal Jack sideways and I had my hand ready on a card. "Jack is attacking Kalia!" **(11000 8000)**

My face must have contorted up all weird like because my brother was spilling his guts out laughing. "Gee, thanks for the support." I rolled my eyes over for extra effect on the sarcasm.

"Ahem," I looked back to my opponent and saw him impatiently tapping Mr. Invincible. "So, hey, are you guarding or what?"

My eyes snapped open as my mind focused back to the battle again. "Nope, no guard." I took Kalia before placing her into the drop zone.

"Alright," Kamui announced. "I'm adding Dancing Wolf's power to my Vanguard as he comes in for the kill!" He tapped Mr. Invincible and Wolf. **(7000+10000=17000 11000)**

_I'm not letting this one get through! _"Guarded with Fire Ifirit **(Shield: 10000) **and Sanctuary Sphinx!" **(Shield: 5000)**

"No pass," I declared. _Unless if he's lucky enough to get a double trigger._

"Trigger check." **(NT-Twin Blader)(ST-Lucky Girl)**

"Well, how for tuna mate of me!" He said.

I shook my head and corrected him. "It's _fortunate_, not _for tuna mate._ Unless if you're talking about fish."

Kamui turned red as Reiji and Eiji tried to hide their snickers.

"It seems that we need to get you a dictionary, oh Great One!" Reiji commented.

Eiji flashed a peace sign and followed up with a, "NAD, yo!"

Ryo scratched his head. "NAD? Oh, you mean 'Need A Dictionary'."

Kamui glared at the three-who bluntly ignored him- and tapped Jack to the side. "Jack stands back up again and gains the extra power! Then, the King and Queen come in after Soul Seer!

"And that's not all," he continued. "Because of Queen of Heart's skill, the King is coming at you with an extra four-thousand power!" **(6000+10000+4000=20000)**

"I'll let that one through," I said.

Soul Seer watched as the King of Sword charged at her full of hatred as he swung his sword. She calmly glanced left and right before realizing that her comrades weren't going to help her this time. Soul closed her eyes and grunted her she felt the sword ripple through her body. The slice left no visible wounds, but she felt some her strength leave as pain clenched her stomach where the sword had hit.

"Damage," I slid a card into the damage zone and quickly gazed at it. **(NT-Beast Caller, Reyna) **

"And finally," Kamui commanded. "Brutal Jack is being sent to attack your Vanguard!" **(16000 11000)**

"I'll be guarding that attempt with Healing Touch, Lavira **(Shield: 10000)** thank you very much."

"Then I end my turn." Kamui bluntly said.

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 4**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 2**

**Soul- 3**

**Drop zone- 9**

**Rose of Hope, Liana (Gr. 1: 6000) – N**

**Keeper of Keys, Selman** **(Gr. 0: 5000)**** –****Soul Seer (Gr. 3: 11000)**

**N – N**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 4**

**Counterblast- 3**

**Hand- 4**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop Zone- 3**

**N – Brutal Jack (Gr. 2: 11000)**

**Dancing Wolf (Gr. 1: 7000) – Mr. Invincible (Gr. 3: 10000)**

**Queen of Heart (Gr. 1: 6000) – King of Sword (Gr. 2: 10000)**

I drew a card and took a deep breath. _I've only go tone chance and I need to make it count._ I glanced at my hand. _I have to do this. _"Final Turn!"

Everyone that was watching our fight gasped as I started filling in the empty rearguards. "I call Ocean Depth Dragon **(Gr. 3: 11000)** and Pyro Knight **(Gr. 1: 7000) **and Prism Knight, Amarite **(Gr. 2: 9000)** to the left, right, and behind my Vanguard! And then I activate Selman's skill! By putting him into the soul, I can give Ocean Depth an extra three-thousand power!"

I tapped my dragon sideways along with Liana. "And now I attack King of Sword!" **(6000+11000=17000 10000)**

"Nuh-uh!" Kamui countered. "Not with Lucky Girl in the way." **(Shield: 10000)**

I smirked inwardly. "Bad move, you should have let that one through."

Kamui glared at me. "And why should I?"

"Because of my Dragon's skill!" I shouted. "Since I have four rearguards in play and you have three cards left in your hand, I can add two-thousand power to Pyro Knight and Amarite!"

"So?" he cockily retorted. "That won't help you."

I tapped Soul Seer and the dragon man behind her and gazed heatedly at Kamui. "Attacking your Vanguard with some help and a boost from Pyro Knight!" **(7000+11000+2000=19000 10000)**

I stared at Kamui and waited for him to guard or not. "Nice try, but Lucky Girl **(Shield: 10000)** along with Ring Girl, Clara will protect me," **(Shield: 10000)** He folded his arms and gave me a smug smile. "You're going to need two triggers to get through this one."

I bit my lip. "Drive check." **(NT- Shield Maiden, Lifanna) (DT- Runecastor)**

The second card gleamed with a red light and I smiled. "Draw trigger activated. That's five-thousand power to Amarite and an extra card for me, and I'll activate her skill! Since I have four rearguards, she'll get another two-thousand at all times!" **(9000+5000+2000+2000=18000 10000)**

"I'll let that one through."

Amarite raised her sword and screamed a battle cry as she charged to Mr. Invincible. He flinched as the knight brought her sword swinging down and leaving pain running around his system. Amarite returned to her spot beside her Vanguard with her weapon resting by her side.

"Damage check," Kamui revealed the top card and placed it along with the other damage cards. **(NT- Stern Blaukluger)**

I looked at my hand. _This is bad, _really _bad. I've got a grade zero, two, and three, giving me a total of fifteen-thousand shield points. twenty if you include Amarite, my intercept. _I analyzed Kamui's field. _I can guard Brutal Jack's attack, but I need to use my whole entire hand to defend against his second or third attack. I'll be able to make it just so long as he doesn't pull a trigger!_

"I end my turn."

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 4**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 3**

**Soul- 4**

**Drop zone- 3**

**Rose of Hope, Liana (Gr. 1: 6000) – Ocean Depth Dragon (Gr. 3: 11000)**

**Pyro Knight (Gr. 1: 7000) ****–****Soul Seer (Gr. 3: 11000)**

**N – Prism Knight, Amarite (Gr. 2: 9000)**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 5**

**Counterblast- 3**

**Hand- 1**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop Zone- 6**

**N – Brutal Jack (Gr. 2: 11000)**

**Dancing Wolf (Gr. 1: 7000) – Mr. Invincible (Gr. 3: 10000)**

**Queen of Heart (Gr. 1: 6000) – King of Sword (Gr. 2: 10000)**

Kamui added a card to his hand and gave me that cocky smile of his.

"You know," he began. "You're a really good opponent to push me this far, but I have to say that this is the _final turn!"_

I cringed as everyone around us watched our battle even more raptly than before.

"I call Clay-doll Mechanic to behind Brutal Jack and activate both of their skills. I get to unflip a card from the damage zone, but since I'm attacking with Brutal Jack, I don't get to waste any cards that are unflipped. I attack your Prism Knight, Amarite!" **(7000+11000=18000 11000=2000+9000)**

**Wait, why does Amarite have eleven-thousand power instead of the usual nine-thousand?**

**That's because I had four rearguard units and the ability is continuous, so she has eleven-thousand power at all times, MeiMei.**

**Oh, no wonder!**

"No guard." I slid Amarite into drop zone. _At least that wasn't a damage trigger. But that was my intercept . . . !_

"Now I'm attacking your Vanguard with mine!" **(7000+10000=17000 11000)**

I placed a card into the Guardian Circle. "I'll guard that with Runecastor **(Shield:10000)** and Beast Tamer, Reyna." **(Shield: 5000)**

I clenched my teeth and gazed at Kamui's deck. _Just two triggers. That's all he needs in order for this attack to get through._

"Trigger check." **(ST- Tough Boy)(CT- Shining Lady)**

My breathing hitched and I paled. "Critical . . ." I whispered.

Kamui pumped his fist into the air and yelled, "Yeah, daddy!-"

"Baby," I automatically corrected.

He ignored me and continued with his cheering. "A critical and a stand trigger! The stand and power goes to Clay-doll Mechanic, while the critical will be going to King of Sword, and he attacks with the Queen's support and skill!"

"D-damage check," I forced my shaking hand to reveal the top card of my deck. _It's over._ Finally, I couldn't take it anymore so I just squeezed my eyes closed and flipped over the card. I heard everyone gasp, and I hesitantly pried one of my eyes. The image came out a little blurry at first, but my vision cleared and I looked at what fate had in store for me. My jaw dropped and I couldn't believe my luck.

**(HT- Healing Touch, Lavira)**

"A-a heal trigger!" I stammered. "That's five-thousand power to my Vanguard and I get to heal a point of damage."

I sighed in relief. _That was too close._

"I stand and-"

"Nuh-uh!" Kamui said. He waved a finger in front of my face. "It's not over yet. Or have you forgotten Brutal Jack's _counterblast?_"

I mentally berated myself in my head. _I totally forgot! Then that means-_

"Now with a boost from Clay-doll, I pay the cost and release Jack after Soul Seer!" **(7000+5000+5000+11000=28000 11000)**

I hesitated. _I don't have anything to guard with, and I don't think I'm lucky enough to get another heal._

Finally I sighed and flipped over the card. "Damage . . ."

I faintly heard the sound of my Vanguard screaming in pain as I gazed at the card. **(CT- Fire Ifirit) **I smiled and said. "You win, oh Great One." I joked.

**Nia Kinaki****:**

**Damage- 6**

**Counterblast- 2**

**Hand- 1**

**Soul- 4**

**Drop zone- 6**

**Rose of Hope, Liana (Gr. 1: 6000) – Ocean Depth Dragon (Gr. 3: 11000)**

**Pyro Knight (Gr. 1: 7000) ****–****Soul Seer (Gr. 3: 11000)**

**N – N**

**Kamui Katsuragi****:**

**Damage- 5**

**Counterblast- 5**

**Hand- 1**

**Soul- 2**

**Drop Zone- 6**

**Clay-doll Mechanic (Gr. 1: 7000) – Brutal Jack (Gr. 2: 11000)**

**Dancing Wolf (Gr. 1: 7000) – Mr. Invincible (Gr. 3: 10000)**

**Queen of Heart (Gr. 1: 6000) – King of Sword (Gr. 2: 10000)**

I heard applause broke out all around us. I looked to the left and right and saw that everyone in the store had gathered around us to watch our fight. Everyone was cheering and shouting things like,

"Awesome match!"

"Who's the girl? I want to challenge her sometime!"

"That was so cool! Can you teach me how to play Vanguard?"

Random people kept asking me and praising me about the match. I blushed and bowed my head as I picked up my cards. I looked up, my face still red. "Um, thank you?"

I know, even though I've participated in tons of plays in front of a huge audience without flinching, I blush and get nervous in front of a group of fifteen people after a Cardfight. Oh, the irony.

"So," I looked at Kamui and he gazed back at me with dead serious eyes. "I've got to hand it to ya, but you're good," he smirked. "But not good as I am! All hail the Great One!"

"Who should be in diapers!"

I coughed and tried to hide my laughter as Kamui angrily looked around. "Who said that?! I'm twelve years old for your info mansion!"

"You mean information?" I asked.

He faced me and yelled, "That's what I just said!"

I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

Even though me and my brother are stranded in a crazy dimension until nightfall, (or is it morning?) at least we have some friends to keep us company.

* * *

**Sorry that I couldn't upload this sooner, but I had gotten grounded by my mother while typing this chapter, because I had music blasting in my ears while she was hollering out that it was lunch. He, he, he!**


	5. Whatever Lucas Wrote

**Okay, now I kinda got into a little trouble while writing this along with the fact that I had to type behind my mother's back, so you'll have to excuse the constant late updates. That, and also she's subjecting me to reading every single subject in school for every single day. Speaking of which, do you know how boring English is at my school?! I'm serious, these are some of the topics we have to learn: Identifying Writer's Ideas (which meant we got to write stories, so woohoo!), Information Reports, Analyzing Advertisments, and other boring stuff. What happened to Reading Comprehension?! At least we got to read stories that time.**

* * *

I groggily got up from my bed and rubbed my bleary eyes. Which world did I wake up in this time?

I blinked and noticed that I was sleeping in my bed. Not a cot with a blanket pulled over me, so I take it that meant I was back in my original world. I tilted my head all the way to the left and right, stopping as soon as I heard a satisfying clink.

I tugged the sheets off and swung my legs to the side. Pushing myself off, I landed softly on the ground with a not-so-soft noise.

_Bam!_

I jumped and tipped backwards, only to end up falling back on my bed in surprise.

After quickly regaining my senses, I propelled myself off my bed again before dashing out the door and running down the steps. "What's going on?! I heard-"

In one terrifying moment, I felt the ground beneath me give away with an, _Oh shoot_, and then I did a reanactment of Jack and Jill. Which in translation, means I stumbled and banged my head, one solid wooden step at a time. At least there was a carpet at the bottom to soften my landing, but only by point five, five, five, five, five percent.

"Ow," I muttered. The ground beneath me vibrated and the sound of footsteps came closer by the second. All of a sudden, they stopped and I felt something poke me in the ribs.

"Are you alive?" A female voice asked.

I cracked open an eye and looked at the person who just spoke. "Depends," I groaned again from the strain of trying and somewhat successfully dragging the part of me that was lying on the stairs to the ground so I could get up properly. I wobbily stood back up and rubbed my knee. "That's gonna leave one huge plum."

**Plum?**

**Ryo and I used to call bruises, 'plums' when we were little because we got our first marks when we stayed over at our crazed Aunt's house. We thought all those purple markings were from us sleeping under that huge plum tree in the garden.**

**How does bruises look anything like plums?**

**What? I was, right, three that time and had a very lousy understanding of things!**

**Was that why Ryo told me you didn't learn the alphabet until you were six?**

**. . . Where is he?**

**The kitchen, if I remember correctly.**

**. . . Take over the story, will you Lucas? I have some 'plums' to deliver to my dear sweet brother.**

**?**

Sorry if what I'm going to be writing right now is a little bit akward. I know I talk to my friends regularly on the computer, but that doesn't mean I can write a story from a different perspective. Oh, wait! Nia just yelled for me to just retell it from my point of view, which should make things easier. Phew!

I watched as everyone around me swarmed Nia.

"Tsk, tsk," Ryo clicked. "Nia, Mom told you never to run down the stairs like that!"

She pouted and turned haughtily away from him. "I heard a huge crash from upstairs, so I thought something was wrong, but what do I get for my concern? An angry brother scolding me."

Ian looked at her T-shirt. "'Typhoon Breakers'? (Which is not the real band's name) I didn't know you were into rock."

Nia paused and looked at us with round, purple eyes. "What are you guys doing here? It's early in the morning!"

MeiMei shook her head. "Nope! It's already eleven in the morning!"

"Eleven?!" She gaped. She pondered for a minute then shrugged. "Eh. Looks like I'll be skipping breakfast for today."

"And have lunch at the mall," her brother stated. "So get dressed, we're goring to Card Shop Guardia today."

"Guardia? As in right now?" Nia asked.

I gave her a subtle thumbs up.

The dark haired girl tensed up. Nia ran up the stairs two steps at a time and yelled, "Why didn't you say anything yesterday?!"

I heard the audible bang of what must obviously be the door to her room closing.

The silence that followed up proved to me that no one in the group had anything to talk about. So I was the one who broke it. I whipped out my iPhone and tapped out a message on the Notes app in the middle of the screen.

MeiMei bounced next to me and read the text as I continued typing everything out. "Oh! Lucas asks if anyone knows where to find"-she squinted at what I typed next-"a computer? Why?"

I quickly typed a response.

_**I found something that may interest you guys.**_

* * *

"I thought you said we were going to Guardia today!" Nia griped.

"We are," Ian said. "For booster packs."

He smirked, while the fifteen-year-old frowned.

"Ah, you guys got me all worked up for nothing!"

The sliding glass doors in front of us moved to the side to let us pass.

Ryo walked up to the cashier. "No we didn't," he said, giving the woman at the counter a few green bills. "We woke you up for the entertainment."

Nia pouted and looked off to the side. "Meanies," I heard her mutter.

I sat down in front of a screen and fired it up.

"So what did you want us here for, Lucas?"

I looked at MeiMei and held a finger up. The computer suddenly switched from its auric-blue default loading screen (at least, I think that's what it's called) to the screen saver. I immediately went to the computer's writing program on the left of the task bar and opened it. A page as blank as white roses popped up, and I began typing out what I wanted to say.

**_I wantd to sho you somthing I found last niht,_** I quickly typed. Apparently, I was so excited that my fingers stumbled over themselves and left a few errors in it's wake. **_I hd goten relaly cuious last ngiht about smoeting someone sad back in Gurdia last wrek, so I decoded to lpok it up. That's wjen I saw tis._**

The cursor moved back to the task bar and clicked another program. It opened up and I began typing in the address.

The others gathered around me as the page finished loading. They all gasped and stared at it in awe.

" ?" Ian asked. He clamped a hand on my shoulder and said, "Lucas, this has got to be the most greatest thing I've ever seen."

I went back to the typing program and wrote properly this time,

**_It's not that great, at least not the same as fighting in real life. But we can still create dream decks on here for testing and challenge players in other countries._**

"Do you think it'll even have Destiny Guardians on there?" Nia asked.

I paused for a moment.

**_I'm not sure. You use a unique deck, so it would be highly unlikely that they have them here._**

"Can you check though?" MeiMei stared at me hopefully through huge, cerulean eyes.

**_I'll try, but I still don't think that this site has Destiny Guardians in it._**

I clicked back to the site and clicked 'search cards'. An new page popped up and I went to 'clans'. I scrolled down the list, my eyes scanning the words written until they stopped climbing and came to a standstill. I quickly read the rest of the names and shook my head.

**_It's not here._**

"Maybe you missed something," Nia insisted. "Hold on, let me have a go."

Nia reached for the mouse and I retracted my hand. As soon as she touched it, all of us heard electricity course through the store. Everyone around us jumped and backed up as the computers malfunctioned and switched themselves off, much to almost everyone's dismay. The lights flickered and the telephone at the counter started ringing, but I'm pretty sure that no one was calling the Internet cafe.

Just then, the electricity fluctuation stopped just as suddenly as it began, leaving everyone on guard to see if it happened again.

"The computer!" I heard Ryo hiss.

I turned my attention back to the screen and nearly ran out.

In the search box at the top right corner, letters magically appeared on their own. I looked down at my hands to see that they weren't touching the keyboard but on my lap, meaning that I wasn't the one subconsciously typing the words out. We all held our breath as the mysterious force clicked 'go', and the page started loading again. Once again, the cursor moved shakily to a link on its own will. Another page opened up and it went to something called 'card creator'.

Me and the rest of my friends waited to see what was going to happen next, but the mysterious force had (and I'm not intending the pun) mysteriously disappeared. I looked back to the screen and took in where the force had guided us. My mouth drooped down into a frown as I processed what it read on the screen.

_**? Why did it guide us to a page filled with imaginary cards?**_ I typed.

"No, no, no," Nia whispered. I glanced at her to see that her skin was lighter than usual and drops of sweat appeared on her forehead. "This is too big to be just a coincidence."

Nia clicked back to the web page and eyed the contents seriously. "How is this even-? I'm not going to ask." She waved her hand and dismissed the thought.

Ian coughed. "Hello? You forgot again? Three people standing here, not knowing why you're becoming all dramatic-like."

"The cards," she replied, not missing a beat. Nia stared intently at the screen while answering, "They're all from my deck! Same names, activated abilities, grade, power, even the art is the same!" She raised.

Ryo leaned in to take a look at the card she clicked, 'Griffon of the Night'. "Well, maybe not the art _exactly_. The style is different."

"But it looks like him, doesn't he?" MeiMei popped in. "He's even in the same stance as the one on the card!"

"How did this person know about your deck, Nia?" Ian said. "Has anyone seen your deck?"

She shook her head. "No. Unless if someone that I challenged wrote all this down for future reference, but that's improbable. The only matches I had so far was against you guys."

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Or is that your forgetful memory talking?"

"I don't know, ask it," Nia dismissively said.

"I _am_ asking it. It's a part of you!"

"So? If a tree falls in the forest, you think snakes can hear it?"

_**They're deaf**_, I typed. **_But what does that have to do with the topic?_**

"Nothing. I just really wanted to say it," she gave us that cheeky grin of hers and flashed a couple of peace signs.

"You don't make any sense." Ian groaned.

"And it'll stay that way," Nia gave an affirmative nod to prove her statement. "But I'm still curious as to who copied my cards down."

I scrolled the page up until I found what we were looking for.

"There!" MeiMei clapped her hands and pointed to the screen. "Made by someone named 'Tyler Blue Gunderson'?" She scrunched up her nose before lighting up. "Oh wait, that's an ad for a movie. Their real name is 'CosmicStellar67'. Cool name."

I clicked open the writing program before minimizing the two pages so me and my friends can see them both at the same time. My fingers flew over the keyboard and I typed, **_Smart too. Whoever this is, they came up with a way to remember the numbers of their name, in case they forget. The numbers corresponds to how many letters there are in each word. C-O-S-M-I-C S-T-E-L-L-A-R, six letters in 'cosmic', and seven in 'stellar'._**

"Neat, now I know how to label my notebooks!" Nia said.

"The big question however, is this," Ryo said, being the critical thinker that he was. "Who is this guy? How does he-"

"You do know it could be a she," Nia interjected.

"He, she, who knows? But we still need to know who this mysterious person is."

"Stalker, perhaps?" Ian blandly suggested.

"Or a sumo wrestler!" MeiMei cheered.

Nia looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe someone I had a cardfight against and forgot? I don't even remember things like that."

_**Could be anybody**_, I tapped. **_Until we can solve this, we should keep an eye out for the suspicious. But I'm curious to know, why does this person see in us? Anyone have any dark past or secrets they want to spill to the rest of us?_**

I turned to my friends and awaited their expressions. Words can help a person get the message, but body language lets someone know what the one talking is thinking of. MeiMei and Ian stared warily at everyone in the store, but I glimpsed a brief moment when brother and sister looked at each other. I couldn't be too sure though, since it was only a glance and not a sight. But that didn't make me all the less twitchy about those two siblings. Maybe _they_ were hiding something from the rest of us. And if so, what could it be? On the run from some madman? From another world? Could be, or I'm just going paranoid.

I mentally shook my head. But that still doesn't get them off the hook. I already learned that most people are ignorant and usually brush these things off. That's what always happens to those people in horror films, and the results were . . . Not to good. Yeah, let's just go with that they didn't really get that happy ending that most fairy tales would end with.

I glanced at the screen once more and noticed that there was a comment from the creator at the bottom. My black eyes darkened even more as my mind processed the information. I need to check this out back home. It could be the answer to this crazy scheme.

* * *

I started hyperventilated by the time I finished reading the first chapter. My fingers drummed nervously on the polished oak desk next to my sleek grey laptop, a sure sign of my anxiousness. Ideas and half-formed thoughts ran about in my head, too many of them too crazy to be true. I think I've been listening too long to Nia's stories again.

My mind briefly wandered and flashed back to the comment that was written on the card creator page from before.

_'So, hey everyone. Cosmic here, and these are the cards that are from my story. If you don't know, or just plain curious, you can check it out on .'_

After that, I copied down the story's name onto the search engine on the website. I got about a good thirty and more hits, but luckily for me, I found the story on my first try. I just finished reading the first chapter and . . . Wow, I just have no idea on what to say.

Everyone about it was so amazing-the plot, jokes, all of it seemed so real. But that was what scared me the most. Two of the characters in the story had the same names, descriptions, heck, they even had the same _flaws and traits_ as Ryo and Nia!

But . . . How? What could this possibly mean? That the story is real and two of my most trusted friends _know_ who CosmicStellar67 is?

I reclined back into my seat. Maybe not, because Ryo looked genuinely surprised-no, shocked would be the more correct term-when he saw all this. I know that Nia is a fantastic actor, but Ryo . . . Well, he can tell lies about as good as Apollo, the Grecian God of Truth.

I looked at the digital clock on my bedside table and shut my laptop down. I'll look into the rest of the chapters later, right now I have school tomorrow.

* * *

". . . Lucas?"

I blinked and rubbed my eyes.

My younger brother snapped his fingers in front of me. "Are you even awake anymore?"

I blinked in confusion and nodded slowly.

JJ frowned at me. "You know, you can just talk to me. We're not at school or anything."

My eyes widened. Talk? How can I? I cleared my throat and said, "Sorry, bro. Just thinking about something."

That's right. I _talked_. Did anyone out there really hear that?

I closed my eyes and reopened them. "Where are we?" I murmured.

"Home," my brother immediately replied. His eyebrows furrowed and he squinted at me. "Are you okay? Do we need to ask Dad for a check-up?"

Apparently Nia forgot to put this little tidbit of information in earlier; my father is a doctor specializing in internal medicines, which is general meds for short.

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm fine. Just had my head in the clouds, that's all."

"That's good," he sighed. "We're supposed to go to the mall today, remember? Mom wants us to pick up all of our school supplies before classes start tomorrow."

"Huh? Err, okay," I closed the door and spun around, thinking. Where the heck am I?! I took a deep breath and remembered everything I learned about situations where you're stuck in an unknown place with possibly hostile people. Right now, I was in what eerily resembled to my bedroom. I shivered and walked around the bed. The small bookshelf containing barely any books was here, the same bedside table, the covers and the bed, posters of Vanguard, closet-

I stopped there and shook my head. Ow, major headache. But if this really WAS my room then there should be . . .

I dropped to the floor and peered underneath the table next to my bed. Reaching my hand out across the dusty floor, I tapped twice underneath it. A hollow sound followed and my suspicions rose. I propped myself back on my knees and opened the bottom drawer all the way. I squinted in the darkness until I could make a silhouette of a small rectangle, thin enough to fit in the gap between the drawer and the floor of it. I reached inside and took it out before closely examining it. I sucked in a breath when I recognized the thing. If this is a dream, I began. Then it is the closest thing to reality I've ever seen.

* * *

_Rumble_.

I stopped and turned around. My brother just stood there, blushing as he coughed.

"Hungry?" I asked.

He hesitated for a moment and shook his head.

"Try again, bro," I deadpanned. "You're a terrible liar. C'mon, I think I saw a convenience store down the street that sold hamburgers."

"It's alright," JJ quickly said. "I'm not that hungry."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you don't want a nice, juicy, _big_ hamburger with crispy lettuce, ripe tomatoes, sweet onions, oh, and let's not forget about-"

"Fine, you made your point," he muttered.

I smiled. "Point to the older-"

_Wham!_

I crashed into someone and landed on the ground. "Ow. That hurts."

I looked up to see who I needed to apologize to, only to be met with a familiar face.

He blinked.

I blinked.

A girl behind him stared at me intently, before holding two fingers to her face. Probably to see if she was dreaming or not.

I wouldn't blame her, because I decided that I must be hallucinating at that very moment.

Then the girl did something totally unexpected. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, came up to me and raised her hand.

I stared at her. "Are-"

_Slap!_

I held my stinging cheek and looked at her. "Crazy much?!"

She stared at me and said, "Nope, not him."

The boy I ran into breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, so he's NOT Lucas."

My brother looked at the two of them. "Bro, what's going on, and how do they know your name?"

The two across me stiffened.

"Could it be?" The boy muttered.

"There's only one way to find out," the girl said. She pointed a finger to the sky and yelled, "To Card Capital!"

"Wait, what-?!"

She grabbed my wrist and dragged me down the street, leaving my brother and the boy standing there dumbly. _She_, being Nia.

* * *

"Hold on," I said. "Are you crazy? I knew it! This is just some crazy dream, isn't it?"

Nia shook her head. "I'm not crazy, Lucas! We're in the Vanguard anime, in Card Capital, and all the characters from the show are _here_."

"Prove it."

She frowned at me and yelled, "Hey, Shin? Are the new cards here yet?"

"Yes!" A green-haired, bespectacled man appeared out of nowhere. I jumped and looked at him. "How'd you know?"

"Wild guess," Nia deadpanned. "Now do you believe me?" She directed that question at me, and I looked around the shop.

"Uh . . . A little."

"Good enough, but I'm telling you that this is-"

"OMG,ISTHATAICHISENDOU?! ICAN'TBELIEVEIT!"

I paled. There was only one person I knew who could talk that loud and that crazy fast. I turned around and saw an extremely hyperactive brunette cling to a bewildered blue-haired boy.

Nia groaned. "Next thing you know, another one comes barreling in."

"Nia! Lucas! I didn't know you were in my dream!"

I managed a shaky smile and said, "Hey . . . MeiMei."

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun! Introduced two more characters in the anime for this, so go Vanguard! Even though I'm absolutely terrible at laying the game at the moment. Cough.**


End file.
